Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC reduced its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 96.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,200 shares of the company's stock after selling 827,288 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC's holdings in Avient were worth $1,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Avient by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Avient during the fourth quarter valued at $90,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Avient during the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Avient by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. lifted its holdings in Avient by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 5,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVNT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Avient in a report on Friday, March 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.80.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVNT traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 376,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 554,563. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $34.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. The company has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $27.86 and a 12-month high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. Avient had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $834.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. Avient's payout ratio is currently 100.93%.

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.