Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC Grows Stock Position in Avient Corporation $AVNT

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its position in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) by 396.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 239,419 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 191,184 shares during the period. Avient makes up about 0.5% of Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Avient worth $7,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Avient by 75.9% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Avient during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Avient during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Avient during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Avient by 39.1% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Avient Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:AVNT opened at $29.70 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.42. 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 1-year low of $27.86 and a 1-year high of $53.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.48.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $806.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $823.57 million. Avient had a net margin of 3.65% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The company’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 firm earned $0.65 EPS. Avient has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.770-2.870 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

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

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.