Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 32,400 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 348,928 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,400 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.38% of Avient worth $14,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AVNT. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 797,112 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Avient in the 4th quarter valued at $8,344,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Avient by 3.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,231,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,977,000 after purchasing an additional 121,349 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 221.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 173,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,706,000 after purchasing an additional 119,229 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of AVNT stock opened at $38.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $37.49 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.36.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. On average, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient’s payout ratio is presently 59.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Avient Company 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.