Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $10.66 Million Stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 30.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 211,856 shares of the company's stock after selling 94,093 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Avient worth $10,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 3.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,231,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $213,977,000 after acquiring an additional 121,349 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Avient by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,057,356 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,166,000 after purchasing an additional 65,452 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Avient by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,936,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,818,000 after purchasing an additional 149,283 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avient by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,174,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,431,000 after purchasing an additional 43,249 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Avient by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,696,565 shares of the company's stock worth $85,371,000 after buying an additional 17,976 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Trading Up 1.8 %

AVNT traded up $0.74 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.86. The company had a trading volume of 631,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,088. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $48.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.87. 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 company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $35.50 and a 12-month high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $797.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Avient's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient's payout ratio is 66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.