Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Position in Avient Corporation $AVNT

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) by 24,899.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,497 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,075 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.12% of Avient worth $3,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Channing Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Avient by 19.1% during the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 2,095,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,057,000 after buying an additional 335,670 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Avient by 5.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 868,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,603,000 after buying an additional 42,118 shares during the last quarter. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd raised its stake in Avient by 26.6% during the third quarter. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 319,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,536,000 after buying an additional 67,200 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Avient during the fourth quarter valued at $1,895,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its stake in Avient by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,288,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,252,000 after buying an additional 397,787 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Stock Down 0.0%

AVNT stock opened at $34.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Avient Corporation has a 1-year low of $27.48 and a 1-year high of $44.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $35.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.88.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.02. Avient had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 4.81%.The company had revenue of $847.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $846.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. Avient’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Avient has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.890-0.890 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.930-3.170 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Avient Corporation will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 18th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Avient’s payout ratio is presently 63.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AVNT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avient in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Avient from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price target on Avient in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $43.00 price target on Avient in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.40.

Avient Profile

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) is a global provider of specialized and sustainable polymer materials, delivering color, additive and engineered solutions to a wide range of industries. The company’s core offerings include masterbatches, colorant systems, compounds and resins designed to enhance performance, aesthetics and environmental sustainability. Avient serves markets such as packaging, automotive, consumer goods, healthcare, electronics, and agriculture, tailoring products to meet stringent regulatory and end-use requirements.

Formed through a corporate rebranding in 2020 following the divestiture of PolyOne’s specialty businesses, Avient traces its heritage to a legacy of polymer innovation spanning decades.