Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 19,566 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 563,718 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,566 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.62% of Avient worth $28,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AVNT. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Avient by 162.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 748,675 shares of the company's stock worth $32,680,000 after acquiring an additional 463,919 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Avient by 836.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 480,227 shares of the company's stock worth $20,962,000 after acquiring an additional 428,971 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Avient by 120.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 784,178 shares of the company's stock worth $39,460,000 after acquiring an additional 428,624 shares in the last quarter. F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in Avient during the second quarter worth about $11,135,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Avient by 3.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,936,318 shares of the company's stock worth $171,818,000 after acquiring an additional 149,283 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AVNT. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Avient from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.50.

Avient Price Performance

NYSE AVNT traded down $0.41 on Friday, hitting $47.64. 134,931 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 463,007. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.85 and a 200-day moving average of $46.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Avient Co. has a 52 week low of $35.50 and a 52 week high of $54.68. The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.02. Avient had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. The firm had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $797.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. This is a boost from Avient's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Avient's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total transaction of $296,454.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.