Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Purchased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,462 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Avient were worth $1,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Avient by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avient by 248.2% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Avient by 139.5% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Avient by 123.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of Avient by 40.1% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Price Performance

AVNT opened at $41.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.48, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.53. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $27.73 and a 1 year high of $43.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.43.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $719.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $711.87 million. Avient had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 2.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 19th were given a dividend of $0.257 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Avient’s payout ratio is 124.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th.

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.