Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Premier Fund Managers Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,595 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,299 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Avient were worth $871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Avient by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 969,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,014,000 after purchasing an additional 15,737 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Avient by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Avient by 57.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Avient by 649.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after buying an additional 19,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Avient by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 211,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,867,000 after buying an additional 1,977 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE AVNT opened at $33.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.14. Avient Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.86 and a 12 month high of $54.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.91, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.33.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Avient had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $834.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Avient’s payout ratio is currently 100.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVNT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.80.

Avient 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.