Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,072,855 shares of the company's stock after selling 86,639 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.17% of Avient worth $43,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Avient by 44.9% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Avient in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Avient during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 47.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Avient from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avient currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.80.

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Avient Price Performance

AVNT traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.87. 702,782 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 517,179. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.18. Avient Co. has a 52-week low of $36.01 and a 52-week high of $54.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Avient's payout ratio is currently 59.02%.

About Avient

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.