Diversified Trust Co Grows Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,671 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,446 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Avient were worth $559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 4.3% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,620,000 after purchasing an additional 63,138 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Avient by 39.4% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 155,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,799,000 after acquiring an additional 44,026 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 48.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,553,000 after acquiring an additional 10,088 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Avient by 288.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 19,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVNT opened at $38.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $46.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.62. Avient Co. has a 52-week low of $35.50 and a 52-week high of $54.68. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $797.50 million. Avient had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 available at this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AVNT. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.