Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Acquires 1,386 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 108,033 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Avient were worth $4,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 836.9% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 480,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,962,000 after buying an additional 428,971 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Avient by 120.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 784,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,460,000 after purchasing an additional 428,624 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Avient by 3.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,936,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,818,000 after purchasing an additional 149,283 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Avient by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,231,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,977,000 after purchasing an additional 121,349 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Avient by 221.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 173,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,706,000 after buying an additional 119,229 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Price Performance

AVNT stock opened at $38.17 on Friday. Avient Co. has a 52 week low of $35.50 and a 52 week high of $54.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.02. Avient had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total value of $296,454.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AVNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.50.

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.