TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Sells 400,776 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 87.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,573 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400,776 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Avient worth $2,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AVNT. CWM LLC raised its stake in Avient by 21.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in Avient by 35.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 35,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 9,378 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Avient by 2.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 50,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Avient by 58.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Avient in the third quarter valued at $217,000. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AVNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

Avient Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:AVNT opened at $43.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.14 and a 200-day moving average of $46.32. The company has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.51. Avient Co. has a one year low of $37.63 and a one year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.02%.

Avient 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.