Tidal Investments LLC Purchases 2,261 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 15.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,592 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,261 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Avient by 162.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 748,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,680,000 after acquiring an additional 463,919 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avient by 836.9% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 480,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,962,000 after purchasing an additional 428,971 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 120.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 784,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,460,000 after purchasing an additional 428,624 shares in the last quarter. F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in Avient during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,135,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Avient by 3.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,936,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,818,000 after buying an additional 149,283 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Price Performance

NYSE AVNT opened at $41.50 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $35.50 and a 12-month high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.02. Avient had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. The firm had revenue of $815.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total value of $296,454.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.