SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 10,172 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 152.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,832 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,172 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Avient were worth $847,000 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 AVNT. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Avient by 162.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 748,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,680,000 after acquiring an additional 463,919 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Avient by 836.9% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 480,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,962,000 after purchasing an additional 428,971 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Avient during the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,520,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,470,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,813,000 after purchasing an additional 328,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avient during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,135,000. 95.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Price Performance

Shares of AVNT opened at $48.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.47. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $27.73 and a 1 year high of $51.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $47.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $850.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $841.40 million. Avient had a net margin of 3.70% and a return on equity of 10.34%. Avient’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a boost from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

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.