Man Group plc Has $3.61 Million Stock Position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Man Group plc reduced its holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 88,218 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,386 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.10% of Avient worth $3,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Choreo LLC grew its position in shares of Avient by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Avient by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Avient by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Avient by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 7,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Trading Up 3.9%

AVNT traded up $1.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.27. 423,925 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 552,082. The company's fifty day moving average price is $34.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.88. Avient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.86 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) 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 5.23% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $826.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $834.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Avient's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AVNT shares. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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 increased their target price on shares of Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Avient from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.