First Trust Advisors LP Trims Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 31.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,907 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,675 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.05% of Avient worth $1,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AVNT. Barclays PLC raised its position in Avient by 221.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 173,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,706,000 after purchasing an additional 119,229 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Avient by 15.8% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,592 shares of the company's stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 2,261 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Avient by 22.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 608,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,626,000 after purchasing an additional 111,489 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Avient by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,671 shares of the company's stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Avient by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 108,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,414,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Avient Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Avient stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $36.80. 483,698 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 548,170. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock's fifty day moving average is $35.54 and its 200 day moving average is $41.78. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $27.86 and a 1 year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $826.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $834.90 million. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Avient's payout ratio is 100.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AVNT. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W raised Avient to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.25.

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.