Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC cut its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 32.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,650 shares of the company's stock after selling 44,459 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned 0.10% of Avient worth $4,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Avient by 88.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 811 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Avient by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Avient in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 185.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,459 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Stock Performance

AVNT traded up $0.61 on Thursday, reaching $50.43. The company had a trading volume of 18,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,621. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $33.84 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.39.

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

Avient Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. This is a positive change from Avient's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avient

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Avient from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Avient from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.50.

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.