UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 14,395 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC decreased its stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 6.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 211,654 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,395 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $10,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AVNT. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Avient by 81.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Avient by 88.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Avient by 58.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Avient during the second quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Avient by 185.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of AVNT opened at $49.86 on Friday. Avient Co. has a twelve month low of $35.33 and a twelve month high of $54.68. The company has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.87.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $815.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.50 million. Avient had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Avient Co. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total value of $296,454.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVNT has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.50.

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.