Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by Fiera Capital Corp

Fiera Capital Corp lessened its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 625,232 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,079 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp owned 0.68% of Avient worth $25,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Avient by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,231,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,977,000 after acquiring an additional 121,349 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Avient by 1.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,057,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,166,000 after purchasing an additional 65,452 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Avient by 2.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,174,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,431,000 after purchasing an additional 43,249 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Avient by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,825,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,581,000 after purchasing an additional 128,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in Avient by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,620,000 after purchasing an additional 63,138 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Stock Performance

AVNT opened at $42.89 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.34. The stock has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.51. Avient Co. has a 1-year low of $37.33 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly 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 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVNT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avient currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.50.

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.