TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Sells 400,776 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 87.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,573 shares of the company's stock after selling 400,776 shares during the quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Avient worth $2,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.3% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company's stock worth $76,620,000 after acquiring an additional 63,138 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Avient by 288.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,138 shares of the company's stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 19,401 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Avient by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,621 shares of the company's stock worth $30,626,000 after purchasing an additional 111,489 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,000 after buying an additional 10,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Stock Performance

AVNT traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 707,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,857. Avient Co. has a 52 week low of $37.63 and a 52 week high of $54.68. The company's 50-day moving average is $42.05 and its 200-day moving average is $46.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.51.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient's payout ratio is 59.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVNT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

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.