Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 14,544 Shares of Avient Corporation $AVNT

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) by 21.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,853 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,544 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Avient worth $1,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Avient during the second quarter valued at $36,767,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Avient by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,729,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,001,000 after purchasing an additional 376,667 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avient by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 2,095,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,057,000 after purchasing an additional 335,670 shares during the last quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Avient in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,908,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Avient by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,288,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,634,000 after purchasing an additional 231,102 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AVNT. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Avient from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Avient in a report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $46.00 target price on Avient in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Avient from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Avient Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Avient stock opened at $39.06 on Friday. Avient Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.48 and a fifty-two week high of $44.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.44 and a 200 day moving average of $34.29.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $760.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.19 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 2.51%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Avient has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.810-0.810 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.930-3.170 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 123.60%.

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.