Stifel Financial Corp Sells 1,738 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Stifel Financial Corp trimmed its stake in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,029 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,738 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Avient were worth $2,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVNT. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Avient by 81.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avient by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avient by 35.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Avient in the second quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Avient during the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Avient news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.06% of the company’s stock.

Avient Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Avient stock opened at $41.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.63. Avient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.50 and a fifty-two week high of $54.68.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avient Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued 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 2.59%. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AVNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer upped their target price 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 shares of Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.50.

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.