Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT) Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its stake in Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,544,693 shares of the company's stock after selling 280,590 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 1.69% of Avient worth $57,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Avient in the 4th quarter worth about $8,344,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Avient by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,806 shares of the company's stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Avient by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 179,600 shares of the company's stock worth $7,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Avient by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 55,775 shares of the company's stock worth $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Avient by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Stock Performance

AVNT traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $32.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 681,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 590,390. Avient Corporation has a 52 week low of $27.86 and a 52 week high of $54.68. The company's 50-day moving average is $35.24 and its 200-day moving average is $37.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.33.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $826.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $834.90 million. Avient had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 3.09%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Avient's payout ratio is 100.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AVNT shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Avient presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.80.

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.