Cerity Partners LLC Has $946,000 Stock Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 25.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 23,155 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,713 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the 4th 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. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Avient in the fourth quarter valued at about $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Avient during the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 47.2% in 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. Finally, Trust Point Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of AVNT opened at $31.18 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.18 and a 200-day moving average of $43.44. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AVNT. 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 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Baird R W upgraded Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Avient from $55.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avient currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.60.

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.