Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT – Get Rating) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 849,691 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,628 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.93% of Avient worth $25,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its position in Avient by 53.3% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 8,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 2,926 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Avient during the third quarter valued at about $688,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Avient during the second quarter valued at about $283,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Avient during the third quarter valued at about $5,086,000. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its position in Avient by 77.9% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 74,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,446,000 after acquiring an additional 32,463 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.81% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have issued reports on AVNT. Citigroup boosted their price target on Avient from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Oppenheimer raised Avient from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Avient from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Avient from $40.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Avient from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.
Avient Trading Up 0.5 %
Avient (NYSE:AVNT – Get Rating) last released 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 return on equity of 14.02% and a net margin of 16.70%. The business had revenue of $790.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Avient Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 14th will be paid 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 2.26%. Avient’s payout ratio is 12.86%.
Avient Profile
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.
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