New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 62,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,573,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Avient as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Avient during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,548,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Avient by 120.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,460,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,675,000 after purchasing an additional 797,112 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Avient during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,344,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Avient by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 790,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,283,000 after purchasing an additional 181,476 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 7.6% in 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 last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Price Performance

AVNT stock opened at $36.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $36.68 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.31.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.