Barclays PLC Purchases 41,219 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 23.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 214,221 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,219 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.23% of Avient worth $8,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Avient by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter valued at $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Avient during the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Avient by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company's stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. raised its position in Avient by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avient Stock Performance

Avient stock traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.33. The stock had a trading volume of 361,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,909. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.84. Avient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.86 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVNT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Avient from $55.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avient presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.60.

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.