Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 49.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,260 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,065 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 55,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 18,877 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 48,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,989,000 after acquiring an additional 9,401 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 177.6% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 26,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 16,956 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,421,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 85,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,507,000 after acquiring an additional 26,055 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVNT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Baird R W raised Avient to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.80.

Avient Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:AVNT opened at $37.95 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $826.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $834.90 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. Avient’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Avient’s payout ratio is 100.93%.

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.