Korea Investment CORP Lowers Stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Korea Investment CORP cut its holdings in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 417,286 shares of the company's stock after selling 111,200 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.06% of Avantor worth $8,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Avantor by 99.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Avantor by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Avantor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $86,019.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,788.12. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,531,753.87. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Avantor Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AVTR traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.00. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.93 and a 1 year high of $28.00. The firm has a market capitalization 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.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AVTR shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 price objective (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Avantor presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.