HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,567 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVNT. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in 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 period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Avient by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. grew its position in shares of Avient by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avient Price Performance

AVNT stock opened at $36.90 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.31. Avient Co. has a twelve month low of $36.68 and a twelve month high of $54.68. 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 $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Avient’s payout ratio is 59.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AVNT shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on Avient in a report 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.