Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 417,079 shares of the company’s stock after selling 357,818 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Avantor were worth $8,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Avantor by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avantor by 106.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avantor by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avantor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In other news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $65,877.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avantor Stock Performance

AVTR opened at $14.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.33 and a 200-day moving average of $20.74. Avantor, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.15 and a 52-week high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.50.

About Avantor

Avantor, Inc engages in the provision of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education and government, advanced technologies, and applied materials industries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers materials and consumables, such as purity chemicals and reagents, lab products and supplies, formulated silicone materials, customized excipients, customized single-use assemblies, process chromatography resins and columns, analytical sample prep kits, education and microbiology products, clinical trial kits, peristaltic pumps, and fluid handling tips.