Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,150,929 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,598 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Avantor worth $24,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AVTR. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew 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 purchasing an additional 88,205 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 493,408 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Avantor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $555,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,027,636 shares of the company's stock worth $63,792,000 after buying an additional 74,735 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

AVTR has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 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 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 $1,531,753.87. This 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 the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 40,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $711,788.12. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avantor Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of AVTR stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $15.21. 18,932,646 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,845,389. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.80 and a 1 year high of $28.00. 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 $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $16.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.47.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. Research analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

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.