Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC Acquires 591 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,612 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 591 shares during the period. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter worth $96,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. grew its stake in Avient by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Avient stock opened at $34.16 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $36.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. Avient Co. has a 52-week low of $27.86 and a 52-week high of $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. On average, analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is 59.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVNT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Avient from $55.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Baird R W raised Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avient currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.60.

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.