Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by WCM Investment Management LLC

WCM Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 441,237 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,253 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC owned about 0.48% of Avient worth $17,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVNT. 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 valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Avient by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 35,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,789,000 after buying an additional 9,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Avient by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of AVNT traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $42.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,173,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 543,523. Avient Co. has a 1-year low of $37.33 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The stock has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.34. 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 (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49. Avient had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. Research analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Avient from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.50.

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.