Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Bought by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,224 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Avient were worth $926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Avient by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,368,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,035,000 after buying an additional 34,399 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,128,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,196,000 after acquiring an additional 36,742 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avient by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,724,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,821,000 after acquiring an additional 381,610 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,438,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,937,000 after purchasing an additional 384,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Avient by 5.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,662,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,169,000 after purchasing an additional 82,010 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVNT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Avient from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Avient from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $49.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Avient Trading Down 3.7 %

AVNT stock opened at $47.30 on Wednesday. Avient Co. has a 52-week low of $27.73 and a 52-week high of $49.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.13, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.61.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.04. Avient had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 3.70%. The company had revenue of $850.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $841.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Avient’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. This is a boost from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.57%.

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.