Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 204,554 Shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) by 20.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,209,305 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 204,554 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Avient were worth $44,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVNT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avient during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,344,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 26,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 5,041 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Avient by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Avient by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 179,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,338,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 55,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avient Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE AVNT opened at $33.19 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.33 and a 200-day moving average of $37.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.33. Avient Corporation has a 52 week low of $27.86 and a 52 week high of $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.05.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $834.90 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 3.09%. Avient’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 100.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avient currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.80.

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.