Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 9,052 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 10.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,644 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,052 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Avient worth $3,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Avient by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 5,546 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Avient by 2.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Avient by 3.5% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Avient during the 1st quarter valued at $110,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Avient by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Avient

In other Avient news, CEO Robert M. Patterson bought 24,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $34.55 per share, with a total value of $839,703.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 610,897 shares in the company, valued at $21,106,491.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 6,743 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.98, for a total value of $262,842.14. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,919.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert M. Patterson acquired 24,304 shares of Avient stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $34.55 per share, with a total value of $839,703.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 610,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,106,491.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVNT. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Avient in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Avient from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $37.00 in a report on Monday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.17.

Avient Stock Performance

AVNT stock opened at $35.19 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Avient Co. has a 12-month low of $27.73 and a 12-month high of $44.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 5.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 1.51.

Avient Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.257 per share. This is an increase from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. Avient’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.85%.

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 specialized color and additive concentrates in solid and liquid form for thermoplastics; dispersions for thermosets; and specialty inks.