Sterling Capital Management LLC Purchases 893 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 140,311 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 893 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $5,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Avient in the 4th quarter valued at about $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Avient in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Avient by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE AVNT opened at $31.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.28 and its 200 day moving average is $44.05. Avient Co. has a 52 week low of $27.86 and a 52 week high of $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88.

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

Avient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s payout ratio is presently 59.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Baird R W raised Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.60.

About Avient

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.