New York State Common Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Holdings in Avient Corporation $AVNT

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,084,382 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,354 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 1.18% of Avient worth $35,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avient by 0.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,252,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,797,000 after purchasing an additional 19,813 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Avient by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,760,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,870,000 after buying an additional 81,393 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,729,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,001,000 after buying an additional 376,667 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in shares of Avient by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,560,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,407,000 after buying an additional 84,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,288,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,634,000 after acquiring an additional 231,102 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avient Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of AVNT opened at $36.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.44. Avient Corporation has a twelve month low of $27.48 and a twelve month high of $44.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.10.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $806.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $823.57 million. Avient had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 10.75%. Avient’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Avient has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.770-2.870 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVNT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Avient from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Avient in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Avient from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Avient from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

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.