Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Purchased by Fmr LLC

FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 288.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,138 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,401 shares during the period. FMR LLC's holdings in Avient were worth $1,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Avient by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,620,000 after buying an additional 63,138 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Avient by 114.6% in the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 241,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,559,000 after acquiring an additional 129,171 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Avient by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 155,763 shares of the company's stock worth $6,799,000 after purchasing an additional 44,026 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,553,000 after purchasing an additional 10,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avient during the second quarter valued at about $2,901,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE AVNT traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $45.94. 969,258 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 466,798. The company's 50 day moving average price is $49.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.07. Avient Co. has a 12 month low of $35.50 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50. 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 (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.02. Avient had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $815.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $797.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is 66.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Avient from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of Avient stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total value of $296,454.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.88% of the company's stock.

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.