Kennedy Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 300,730 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,700 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.33% of Avient worth $12,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Avient by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Avient by 44.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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Avient Stock Performance

Avient stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.83. 248,292 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 545,790. 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 12-month low of $27.86 and a 12-month high of $54.68. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $39.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.02%.

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.