BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases Shares of 21,338 Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 21,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $872,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avient in the 4th quarter valued at about $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Avient by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. raised its position in Avient by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE AVNT opened at $36.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. Avient Co. has a 52-week low of $27.86 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $35.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.31.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $826.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $834.90 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. Avient’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. Research analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 100.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AVNT shares. 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. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price 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. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avient has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.80.

About Avient

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.