Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 11.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 663,369 shares of the company's stock after selling 85,306 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.73% of Avient worth $33,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 180.5% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 17,251 shares of the company's stock worth $868,000 after acquiring an additional 11,100 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Avient by 185.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,459 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 948 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Avient by 12.9% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 14,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 1,689 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 23,862 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,201,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its stake in Avient by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 6,308 shares of the company's stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Avient news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of Avient stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total transaction of $296,454.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company's stock.

Avient Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AVNT traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.64. The stock had a trading volume of 363,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 528,608. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $33.64 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The firm's 50 day moving average is $48.87 and its 200-day moving average is $46.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last released 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. Avient had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. The business had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $797.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Avient's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient's payout ratio is currently 63.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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