Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 318,426 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,376 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.35% of Avient worth $11,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Avient by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Avient by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in Avient by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 42,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Avient during the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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 Price Performance

AVNT opened at $37.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.42 and a 200-day moving average of $39.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $27.86 and a 12-month high of $54.68.

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

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.93%.

Avient 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.