Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 5,813 Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Avient during the third quarter valued at about $336,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Avient by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,174,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,431,000 after acquiring an additional 43,249 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Avient by 221.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 173,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,706,000 after acquiring an additional 119,229 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Avient by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Avient by 3.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,231,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,977,000 after purchasing an additional 121,349 shares during the last quarter. 95.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AVNT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Avient from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.50.

Avient Price Performance

AVNT stock opened at $40.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Avient Co. has a 1 year low of $35.50 and a 1 year high of $54.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.41 and a 200 day moving average of $46.89. The company has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.50.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last announced 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. Avient had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 4.66%. The firm had revenue of $815.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. This is a positive change from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

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.