Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,857,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 185,018 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 3.13% of Avient worth $116,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Avient by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,000 after acquiring an additional 10,088 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 288.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 19,401 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Avient by 40.6% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 8,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,335 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Avient by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 3,111 shares during the period. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in Avient during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $253,000. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W raised Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.80.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of AVNT opened at $37.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. Avient Co. has a 52-week low of $35.98 and a 52-week 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.12.

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

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. 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.