Jane Street Group LLC Sells 55,450 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Jane Street Group LLC lowered its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 74,802 shares of the company's stock after selling 55,450 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Avient worth $3,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Avient by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Avient by 81.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 663 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Avient by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Avient by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 25,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Avient

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total value of $296,454.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Avient Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE AVNT traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $41.69. The company had a trading volume of 737,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 470,617. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50. Avient Co. has a twelve month low of $35.50 and a twelve month high of $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock's 50 day moving average is $49.48 and its 200-day moving average is $47.00.

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. The company had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.50 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, equities 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. This is an increase from Avient's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Avient's payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Avient 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.