Fiera Capital Corp Trims Position in Avient Corporation $AVNT

Fiera Capital Corp trimmed its stake in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 614,055 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,353 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in Avient were worth $19,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 24.6% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 97,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 19,223 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Avient during the 1st quarter worth $7,804,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Avient during the 1st quarter worth $230,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Avient during the 1st quarter valued at $37,160,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avient in the 1st quarter worth $50,471,000. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avient Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE:AVNT opened at $30.12 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.03. Avient Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.86 and a fifty-two week high of $53.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.48.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $806.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $823.57 million. Avient had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 10.57%. Avient’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Avient has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.770-2.870 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Avient’s payout ratio is 89.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVNT has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp began coverage on Avient in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avient in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of Avient in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Avient from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.50.

Avient 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.