MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 823 Shares of Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT)

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Avient Co. (NYSE:AVNT) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,696 shares of the company’s stock after selling 823 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Avient worth $4,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Avient by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,057,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,166,000 after buying an additional 65,452 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Avient by 3.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,936,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,818,000 after acquiring an additional 149,283 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Avient by 1.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,696,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,371,000 after purchasing an additional 17,976 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in shares of Avient by 4.3% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,522,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,620,000 after purchasing an additional 63,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avient by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,243,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,554,000 after purchasing an additional 9,893 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

Avient Stock Down 0.1 %

AVNT stock opened at $51.25 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.48. 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 $33.98 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.70.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $815.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.50 million. Avient had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Avient Co. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avient Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Avient’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Avient’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Avient from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Avient from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Avient from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Avient has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avient

In other Avient news, SVP Joel R. Rathbun sold 5,762 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.45, for a total transaction of $296,454.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

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.