Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 73.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,277 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,764 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in Avient were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted 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. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Avient by 58.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,098 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Avient in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Avient by 185.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Price Performance

Avient stock traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $46.88. The company had a trading volume of 586,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,911. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $49.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.04. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $35.50 and a 1 year 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 has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $797.50 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. Avient's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Avient's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Avient's payout ratio is 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of Avient stock in a transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Avient from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.50.

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.