ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 183,935 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,711 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.20% of Avient worth $7,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Choreo LLC raised its holdings in Avient by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avient by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Avient by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 7,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AVNT stock opened at $37.78 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.47.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $834.90 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. Avient’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVNT. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.80.

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.