Walnut Level Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 85,000 Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Walnut Level Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 85,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,473,000. Avient comprises 1.3% of Walnut Level Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Walnut Level Capital LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Avient as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Avient by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,313,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,424,000 after purchasing an additional 79,661 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Avient by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,231,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,977,000 after buying an additional 121,349 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,174,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,431,000 after buying an additional 43,249 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,825,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,581,000 after buying an additional 128,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in shares of Avient by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,620,000 after buying an additional 63,138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on AVNT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.80.

Avient Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE:AVNT opened at $38.43 on Monday. Avient Co. has a 12 month low of $37.49 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $42.02 and its 200 day moving average is $45.54.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. Sell-side analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. 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 2.81%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is 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.