Versor Investments LP Decreases Stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Versor Investments LP cut its stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 23.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,044 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Avient were worth $540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Choreo LLC raised its stake in Avient by 4.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Avient by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Avient by 44.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Avient by 7.3% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 10,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its holdings in Avient by 14.4% in the third quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 6,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVNT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of AVNT opened at $42.81 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.27. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $37.63 and a 12-month high of $54.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities 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 paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.02%.

About Avient

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.