Shell Asset Management Co. Trims Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Feb 26th, 2023

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT – Get Rating) by 20.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,698 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,803 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Avient were worth $324,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVNT. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Avient by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 5,546 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Avient by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Avient by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in Avient during the 1st quarter worth approximately $110,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Avient by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares during the period. 93.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE AVNT opened at $42.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Avient Co. has a 52 week low of $27.65 and a 52 week high of $54.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $38.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.97.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.09. Avient had a net margin of 16.70% and a return on equity of 14.02%. The company had revenue of $790.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 14th will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This is a boost from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 13th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Avient from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Avient from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Avient from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Avient from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Avient from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.

About Avient

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Avient Corp. engages in the business of thermoplastic compounds. It specializes in polymer materials, services, and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, plastic sheet and packaging solutions and polymer distribution. The firm is also involved in the development and manufacturing of performance enhancing additives, liquid colorants, fluoropolymers, and silicone colorants.