Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,201,171 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,929 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.32% of Avantor worth $46,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AVTR. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Avantor by 122.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $790,000 after buying an additional 16,818 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in Avantor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,575,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Avantor by 557.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,675,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,950,000 after purchasing an additional 3,963,912 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Avantor by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 259,985 shares of the company's stock worth $6,726,000 after purchasing an additional 27,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 41,297 shares of the company's stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 5,375 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor 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 directly owns 40,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVTR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avantor has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.50.

Avantor Stock Down 3.4 %

AVTR stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.15. 24,521,591 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,633,040. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $17.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.96. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.93 and a 52 week high of $28.00. The company has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.