62,965 Shares in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Acquired by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 62,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,573,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Avient at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Avient by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Avient during the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avient during the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Avient by 47.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 1,312 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W upgraded Avient to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.80.

Remove Ads

Avient Trading Down 10.6 %

NYSE:AVNT traded down $4.00 on Thursday, hitting $33.87. 239,210 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 517,228. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.46 and a 200-day moving average of $45.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Avient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.85 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Avient's 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.