Prudential Financial Inc. Increases Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 348,928 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,400 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.38% of Avient worth $14,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Avient during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avient during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Avient in the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of AVNT stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 702,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 517,179. Avient Co. has a 1-year low of $36.01 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $41.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

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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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Avient's payout ratio is 59.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Baird R W raised Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.80.

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.