Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Buys 700 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,640 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Avient worth $3,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Avient by 120.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,460,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,675,000 after buying an additional 797,112 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Avient during the 4th quarter worth about $8,344,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in 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 during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,231,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,977,000 after purchasing an additional 121,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 221.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 173,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,706,000 after purchasing an additional 119,229 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVNT opened at $38.43 on Friday. Avient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $37.49 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68. The company has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.55.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

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 is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AVNT shares. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.80.

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.