Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 96.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 827,288 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $1,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVNT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Avient during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,548,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 200.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,321,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,012,000 after purchasing an additional 882,234 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 120.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,460,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,675,000 after purchasing an additional 797,112 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,185,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,180,000 after purchasing an additional 276,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avient during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,344,000. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVNT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Avient to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avient has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.80.

Avient Stock Up 2.1%

Avient stock opened at $36.60 on Wednesday. Avient Co. has a twelve month low of $27.86 and a twelve month high of $54.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. The business had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $834.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.93%.

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.