Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 672 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT – Get Rating) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 336,725 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Avient were worth $11,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Avient by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 14,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Avient by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 42,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 7,661 shares during the last quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its position in shares of Avient by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 7,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new position in shares of Avient in the fourth quarter worth approximately $336,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Avient by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 219,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. 93.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avient Stock Performance

NYSE:AVNT opened at $37.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 1.53. Avient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.65 and a fifty-two week high of $52.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.82.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $845.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $843.16 million. Avient had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 16.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 7th. Investors of record on Friday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVNT has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Avient from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Avient from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. 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 note on Thursday, February 16th. 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 note on Thursday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avient has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.00.

Avient Profile

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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.