Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 26,265 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,041 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Avient were worth $1,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Choreo LLC raised its stake in Avient by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Avient by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Avient by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Avient by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avient Stock Up 0.9 %

AVNT stock opened at $40.54 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.68. Avient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $37.63 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68.

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

Avient Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W raised Avient to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.80.

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.