Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Stock Position Decreased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 30.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 211,856 shares of the company’s stock after selling 94,093 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Avient were worth $10,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVNT. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 162.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 748,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,680,000 after acquiring an additional 463,919 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 836.9% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 480,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,962,000 after acquiring an additional 428,971 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 120.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 784,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,460,000 after acquiring an additional 428,624 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avient during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,135,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 3.9% during the 2nd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVNT opened at $50.64 on Monday. Avient Co. has a 1-year low of $33.64 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.87 and its 200-day moving average is $46.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $815.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. Avient’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued 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 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 presently 63.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Avient from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $49.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avient has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.50.

Insider Transactions at Avient

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the firm’s 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Avient

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.