Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) SVP Joel R. Rathbun Sells 5,762 Shares

Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) 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 transaction of $296,454.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Avient Stock Down 0.7 %

AVNT opened at $51.18 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.76 and a 200-day moving average of $46.17. Avient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.64 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68. The company has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.48.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.58%.

Institutional Trading of Avient

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Avient by 1.6% in the third 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 increased its stake in Avient by 3.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,936,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,818,000 after acquiring an additional 149,283 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Avient by 1.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,696,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,371,000 after acquiring an additional 17,976 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in Avient by 4.3% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,620,000 after purchasing an additional 63,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,470,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,813,000 after purchasing an additional 328,773 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVNT has been the subject of several research reports. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.50.

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.