Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 34,350 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 106,111 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,350 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.12% of Avient worth $4,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVNT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Avient in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,548,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 120.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,460,481 shares of the company's stock worth $59,675,000 after acquiring an additional 797,112 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,185,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,180,000 after purchasing an additional 276,357 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avient during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,344,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Avient by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 790,097 shares of the company's stock worth $32,283,000 after purchasing an additional 181,476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AVNT traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $31.18. The company had a trading volume of 580,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,741. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.44. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.41. Avient Co. has a one year low of $27.86 and a one year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Avient's payout ratio is 59.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 objective for the company. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.60.

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.