Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 276,357 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,185,999 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 276,357 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 3.49% of Avient worth $130,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Avient by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,000 after acquiring an additional 10,088 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Avient by 288.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 19,401 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Avient by 40.6% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 8,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,335 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Avient by 20.4% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111 shares during the period. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Avient in the third quarter worth $253,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.80.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVNT opened at $37.95 on Thursday. Avient Co. has a one year low of $35.98 and a one year high of $54.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. Sell-side analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Avient’s payout ratio is 59.02%.

Avient Company Profile

Avient Corporation operates as a formulator of material solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, and Asia. It operates in two segments, Color, Additives and Inks; and Specialty Engineered Materials. The Color, Additives and Inks segment offers custom color and additive concentrates in solid and liquid form for thermoplastics, dispersions for thermosets, and specialty inks; custom-formulated liquid system, such as polyester, vinyl, natural rubber and latex, polyurethane, and silicone; and proprietary inks.