Xponance Inc. Increases Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,942 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Avient were worth $529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 288.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after buying an additional 19,401 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Avient by 22.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,626,000 after acquiring an additional 111,489 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Avient by 48.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,553,000 after acquiring an additional 10,088 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,243,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,554,000 after acquiring an additional 9,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 112.4% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 151,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,646,000 after purchasing an additional 80,414 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Avient Stock Performance

NYSE:AVNT opened at $39.52 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.46. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. Avient Co. has a twelve month low of $37.49 and a twelve month high of $54.68.

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 net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. As a group, research analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. 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.