Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Avient Corporation $AVNT

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lowered its position in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) by 22.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 994,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 294,443 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned about 1.08% of Avient worth $36,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 5.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 868,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,603,000 after purchasing an additional 42,118 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Avient by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,800,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,260,000 after purchasing an additional 70,978 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in Avient in the fourth quarter valued at $1,895,000. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Avient during the 4th quarter worth about $2,350,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Avient by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,591,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,447,000 after purchasing an additional 121,272 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of Avient stock opened at $36.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Avient Corporation has a twelve month low of $27.48 and a twelve month high of $44.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 18th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVNT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avient in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Truist Financial started coverage on Avient in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group set a $44.00 price target on Avient in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $43.00 price target on Avient in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avient in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.71.

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.