Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Has $13.57 Million Stock Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 332,100 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 42,089 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.36% of Avient worth $13,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Avient by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avient in the 4th quarter worth about $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Avient in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Avient by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company's stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Avient Price Performance

Avient stock opened at $30.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. Avient Co. has a one year low of $27.86 and a one year high of $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.70.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Avient's dividend payout ratio is 59.02%.

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.

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