Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 36.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,620 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,022 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Avient were worth $1,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in Avient by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Avient by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Avient by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Avient by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $50,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Avient Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of AVNT opened at $36.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. Avient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.68 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $41.78 and a 200 day moving average of $45.31.

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

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 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.