Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 10,719 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 160,351 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,719 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Avient were worth $6,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Avient by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 49,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Avient by 2.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,302,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,008,000 after acquiring an additional 29,516 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Avient by 9.5% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares during the period. Strs Ohio raised its stake in Avient by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 186,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,597,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Avient by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 25,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $901,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Avient from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Avient from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.20.

Avient Stock Performance

NYSE:AVNT opened at $45.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 54.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $27.73 and a 12-month high of $47.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.57.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $829.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.45 million. Avient had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 2.41%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Avient’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th were issued a $0.257 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. Avient’s payout ratio is 124.10%.

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.