Fiera Capital Corp Decreases Stake in Avient Corporation $AVNT

Fiera Capital Corp cut its position in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 614,055 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,353 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp owned approximately 0.67% of Avient worth $19,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Avient in the second quarter worth $37,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in Avient during the second quarter valued at $45,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Avient by 2,450.0% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Avient by 39.1% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Price Performance

AVNT stock opened at $30.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.48. Avient Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.86 and a 12 month high of $53.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

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

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This is an increase from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVNT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of Avient in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avient in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Avient from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on Avient in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.50.

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.