Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Cuts Stake in Avient Corporation $AVNT

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) by 22.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 994,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 294,443 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.’s holdings in Avient were worth $36,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Avient by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,218,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,223,000 after buying an additional 77,246 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Avient by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,781,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,363,000 after buying an additional 27,251 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,781,000 after acquiring an additional 410,112 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,283,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,341,000 after acquiring an additional 11,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 2,102,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,697,000 after acquiring an additional 7,161 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Avient stock opened at $36.70 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.27. Avient Corporation has a 1-year low of $27.48 and a 1-year high of $44.85.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.02. Avient had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 4.81%.The firm had revenue of $847.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $846.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Avient has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.890-0.890 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.930-3.170 EPS. Analysts predict that Avient Corporation will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 18th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVNT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Avient in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $43.00 price objective on Avient in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Avient in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Avient in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group set a $44.00 target price on shares of Avient in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avient presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.71.

About Avient

Avient Corporation (NYSE: AVNT) is a global provider of specialized and sustainable polymer materials, delivering color, additive and engineered solutions to a wide range of industries. The company’s core offerings include masterbatches, colorant systems, compounds and resins designed to enhance performance, aesthetics and environmental sustainability. Avient serves markets such as packaging, automotive, consumer goods, healthcare, electronics, and agriculture, tailoring products to meet stringent regulatory and end-use requirements.

Formed through a corporate rebranding in 2020 following the divestiture of PolyOne’s specialty businesses, Avient traces its heritage to a legacy of polymer innovation spanning decades.