Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 46,746 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 564,253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,746 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.62% of Avient worth $23,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 10,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 6,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AVNT. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avient has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

Avient Stock Performance

AVNT stock opened at $41.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.51. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $37.63 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.25.

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

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.