Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 310 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Avient were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVNT. State Street Corp increased its stake in Avient by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,231,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,977,000 after acquiring an additional 121,349 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Avient by 1.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,057,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,166,000 after purchasing an additional 65,452 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Avient by 3.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,936,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,818,000 after purchasing an additional 149,283 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Avient by 1.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,696,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,371,000 after purchasing an additional 17,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in shares of Avient by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,620,000 after buying an additional 63,138 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avient news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the company’s 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.50.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVNT opened at $47.52 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.33, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50. Avient Co. has a 12 month low of $35.50 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $49.82 and its 200 day moving average is $47.04.

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

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

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.