Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Position Decreased by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 73.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,089 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,272 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd’s holdings in Avantor were worth $318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in Avantor by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,766,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,228,000 after acquiring an additional 493,408 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 4th quarter valued at $555,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Avantor by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,922,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,504,000 after purchasing an additional 33,692 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Avantor by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,027,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,792,000 after purchasing an additional 74,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Avantor by 146.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,628,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,996,000 after buying an additional 1,562,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Stock Performance

NYSE AVTR opened at $15.56 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.36. Avantor, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.80 and a 52-week high of $28.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Avantor from $23.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Avantor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.08.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,788.12. This trade represents 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 owned by insiders.

Avantor Company Profile

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.