Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,255,904 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,776 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.37% of Avient worth $51,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AVNT. Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Avient by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Avient by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Avient by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Avient by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avient by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avient Stock Down 1.6 %

AVNT opened at $39.49 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.97. Avient Co. has a 52 week low of $37.63 and a 52 week high of $54.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. Analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Avient presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

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.