Homestead Advisers Corp Has $6.56 Million Stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Homestead Advisers Corp lowered its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160,427 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,200 shares during the quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp owned approximately 0.18% of Avient worth $6,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Avient by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 790,097 shares of the company's stock worth $32,283,000 after acquiring an additional 181,476 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avient by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 348,928 shares of the company's stock worth $14,257,000 after purchasing an additional 32,400 shares during the last quarter. Walnut Level Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,473,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Avient by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,313,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $421,424,000 after buying an additional 79,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Avient by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,289 shares of the company's stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Avient stock traded up $0.13 on Monday, reaching $37.04. 108,458 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 514,468. The firm's 50-day moving average is $41.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.31. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. 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 52 week low of $35.00 and a 52 week high of $54.68.

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Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 predict that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avient presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.80.

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.