Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 174.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,136 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 49,643 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Avient worth $3,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Avient by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Avient by 44.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Avient during the third quarter worth $60,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Avient during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Avient by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of AVNT opened at $40.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $37.63 and a 1 year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Avient’s payout ratio is 59.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Avient

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.