Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 121,272 Shares of Avient Corporation $AVNT

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,591,723 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 121,272 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 1.74% of Avient worth $52,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Avient in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in shares of Avient by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,569,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,706,000 after purchasing an additional 9,124 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avient by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 2,095,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,057,000 after purchasing an additional 335,670 shares during the period. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Avient by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 319,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,536,000 after purchasing an additional 67,200 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Avient by 12.1% during the third quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 62,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,069,000 after buying an additional 6,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $46.00 price target on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price objective on Avient in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Avient from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avient in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Avient from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.00.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVNT opened at $36.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.99, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.40. Avient Corporation has a 52 week low of $27.48 and a 52 week high of $44.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.30.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $760.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.19 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 2.51%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Avient has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.810-0.810 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.930-3.170 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Avient’s payout ratio is 123.60%.

About Avient

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) is a global provider of specialized and sustainable polymer materials, delivering color, additive and engineered solutions to a wide range of industries. The company’s core offerings include masterbatches, colorant systems, compounds and resins designed to enhance performance, aesthetics and environmental sustainability. Avient serves markets such as packaging, automotive, consumer goods, healthcare, electronics, and agriculture, tailoring products to meet stringent regulatory and end-use requirements.

Formed through a corporate rebranding in 2020 following the divestiture of PolyOne’s specialty businesses, Avient traces its heritage to a legacy of polymer innovation spanning decades.