Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 146,982 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,940 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.16% of Avient worth $6,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Choreo LLC grew its position in Avient by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Avient by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Avient by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Avient by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Avient by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Avient from $55.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.60.

Avient Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:AVNT opened at $31.18 on Monday. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.18 and a 200-day moving average of $43.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. Equities analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.02%.

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.