SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 19,431 Shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Avient Corporation (NYSE:AVNT - Free Report) by 649.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,421 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,431 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Avient were worth $833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AVNT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Avient by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Avient by 85.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 57.5% in the first 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. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avient in the first quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avient during the fourth quarter worth approximately $90,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AVNT shares. Baird R W raised Avient to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Avient in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Avient from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avient has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.80.

Avient Trading Up 0.2%

AVNT opened at $34.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38. 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 $35.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.13. Avient Corporation has a 1-year low of $27.86 and a 1-year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $826.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $834.90 million. Avient had a net margin of 3.09% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The firm'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 EPS. Analysts expect that Avient Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Avient's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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