Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Stock Position Reduced by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 178,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Avient worth $8,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avient by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Avient by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVNT opened at $52.28 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.27, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Avient Co. has a 12 month low of $33.84 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.48.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.02. Avient had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. The company had revenue of $815.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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 fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. This is a boost from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the company’s 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research 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 price objective on Avient from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $49.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Avient presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.