Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Position Raised by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,232,329 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,541 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Avantor were worth $236,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVTR. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 34.1% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 346,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,972,000 after buying an additional 88,205 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in Avantor by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,766,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,228,000 after purchasing an additional 493,408 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Avantor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $555,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Avantor by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,922,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,504,000 after purchasing an additional 33,692 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,027,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,792,000 after purchasing an additional 74,735 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avantor Price Performance

NYSE AVTR opened at $15.15 on Friday. Avantor, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.93 and a fifty-two week high of $28.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.00. The firm has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $86,019.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVTR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James reissued 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.