Swiss National Bank Acquires 1,400 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 179,600 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Avient worth $7,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVNT. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avient by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Avient by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 251,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,274,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter worth about $1,712,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Avient by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 26,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after buying an additional 5,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Avient by 84,330.8% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 21,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,000 after buying an additional 21,926 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on AVNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.80.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVNT opened at $38.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. Avient Co. has a 12 month low of $37.49 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.02 and its 200 day moving average is $45.55.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. Research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.