State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Reduces Stock Holdings in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its holdings in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,781 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,740 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Avient were worth $2,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 463,919 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Avient by 836.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 480,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,962,000 after buying an additional 428,971 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Avient by 120.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 784,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,460,000 after buying an additional 428,624 shares in the last quarter. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avient in the second quarter worth about $11,135,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,359,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,010,000 after acquiring an additional 158,163 shares in the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avient Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE AVNT opened at $50.64 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.48. Avient Co. has a one year low of $33.64 and a one year high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $815.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Avient Co. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is 66.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Avient from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $49.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the company’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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Avient

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.