Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 204,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,344,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.22% of Avient at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in Avient by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,231,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,977,000 after purchasing an additional 121,349 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Avient by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,174,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,431,000 after purchasing an additional 43,249 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Avient by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,825,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,581,000 after purchasing an additional 128,718 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in Avient by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,620,000 after purchasing an additional 63,138 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in Avient by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,515,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,253,000 after purchasing an additional 17,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of AVNT opened at $38.43 on Friday. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $37.49 and a 12-month high of $54.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.02 and its 200 day moving average is $45.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVNT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avient presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.80.

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.