Avient Corporation $AVNT Stock Holdings Lessened by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) by 40.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,228 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,580 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Avient were worth $1,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 75.9% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 18.3% during the second quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Avient by 1.8% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA grew its stake in Avient by 5.2% in the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 9,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Avient by 39.1% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of Avient in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avient in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Avient in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Avient from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Avient has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.50.

Avient Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of Avient stock opened at $30.16 on Friday. Avient Corporation has a 12-month low of $27.86 and a 12-month high of $53.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.48.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $806.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $823.57 million. Avient had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Avient has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.770-2.870 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.43%.

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.