Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,133,331 shares of the company's stock after selling 51,398 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.17% of Avantor worth $28,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Avantor by 1,830.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Avantor by 89.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,715 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Avantor by 278.0% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 5,031 shares of the company's stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avantor Stock Performance

AVTR stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Thursday, reaching $21.02. The company had a trading volume of 3,700,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,442,858. The company has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.29. Avantor, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.59 and a twelve month high of $28.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVTR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Avantor from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Avantor from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.69.

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.