Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank lessened its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,428 shares of the company’s stock after selling 295 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Avient were worth $726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AVNT. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Avient by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Avient during the third quarter worth approximately $3,535,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Avient by 2.9% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 46,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avient in the third quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL raised its stake in shares of Avient by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 9,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 2,053 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seaport Res Ptn cut 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 stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. 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.com, Avient currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

Avient Price Performance

Avient stock opened at $53.17 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.48. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $33.84 and a 52-week high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.02. Avient had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. Avient’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total transaction of $296,454.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.