Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $922,000 Stake in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its holdings in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,811 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,454 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Avient were worth $922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 200.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,321,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,012,000 after acquiring an additional 882,234 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Avient by 250.5% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 532,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,762,000 after purchasing an additional 380,657 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Avient by 20.4% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,209,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,938,000 after purchasing an additional 204,554 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Avient during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,344,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Avient by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 790,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,283,000 after purchasing an additional 181,476 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AVNT. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Avient from $43.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avient currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.60.

Avient Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE AVNT opened at $34.19 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.86. Avient Corporation has a one year low of $27.86 and a one year high of $54.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. Avient had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 3.65%. The company had revenue of $866.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $852.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 84.38%.

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.