Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,909,642 shares of the company's stock after selling 864,709 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 3.18% of Avient worth $144,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 35.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,098 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 21.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Avient by 81.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 663 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Avient by 44.9% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 58.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Avient from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total transaction of $296,454.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company's stock.

Avient Price Performance

NYSE AVNT traded down $0.65 on Monday, hitting $46.88. The company had a trading volume of 586,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,911. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $35.50 and a 12-month high of $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company's fifty day moving average price is $49.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.06. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $815.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. Avient's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Avient's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient's payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

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.