Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Sells 3,105 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lowered its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,352 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,105 shares during the quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Avient by 56.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Avient by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Avient during the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Avient by 185.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Avient during the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AVNT. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of AVNT opened at $41.87 on Monday. Avient Co. has a 12 month low of $37.63 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. Equities research analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

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 $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.02%.

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.