FIL Ltd Sells 41,272 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

FIL Ltd reduced its position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 73.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,089 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,272 shares during the period. FIL Ltd’s holdings in Avantor were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,785,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,173,000 after acquiring an additional 317,280 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Avantor by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,992,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316,813 shares during the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Avantor by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,145,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,395 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Avantor by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,427,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,099,000 after purchasing an additional 222,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB increased its stake in shares of Avantor by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB now owns 61,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after buying an additional 17,826 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.08.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

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 transaction of $86,019.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $65,877.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of AVTR opened at $15.56 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $16.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.36. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.80 and a 1 year high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

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.