Channing Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Channing Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,721,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 197,075 shares during the period. Avient accounts for about 1.9% of Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Channing Capital Management LLC owned about 1.88% of Avient worth $70,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AVNT. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Avient by 3.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,231,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,977,000 after acquiring an additional 121,349 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,174,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,431,000 after purchasing an additional 43,249 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,825,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,581,000 after purchasing an additional 128,718 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in shares of Avient by 4.3% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,620,000 after buying an additional 63,138 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in Avient by 1.2% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,515,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,253,000 after buying an additional 17,765 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVNT has been the topic of several research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Avient Stock Performance

Avient stock opened at $40.67 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.95 and its 200 day moving average is $46.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. Avient Co. has a twelve month low of $37.63 and a twelve month high of $54.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share 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%. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.