Headlands Technologies LLC Invests $90,000 in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,185,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,180,000 after purchasing an additional 276,357 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its position in Avient by 97.9% in the fourth quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 25,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after buying an additional 12,811 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Avient by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 14,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 3,371 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avient during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,573,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,548,000. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.80.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of AVNT stock opened at $30.44 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. Avient Co. has a 12 month low of $28.96 and a 12 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.88.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS 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%. Research analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

Avient Company 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.