Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Takes $3.33 Million Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 157,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,325,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Avantor by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 383,630 shares of the company's stock worth $8,083,000 after purchasing an additional 32,282 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Avantor by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,841,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,175 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Avantor during the 4th quarter valued at $417,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in Avantor by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,012,692 shares of the company's stock worth $21,338,000 after acquiring an additional 55,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Avantor by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 21,037,089 shares of the company's stock worth $443,251,000 after purchasing an additional 112,644 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AVTR. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their target price on Avantor from $23.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price target (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $86,019.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $65,877.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avantor Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:AVTR traded up $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $15.48. The stock had a trading volume of 13,782,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,994,547. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.80 and a 1 year high of $28.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $16.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.94. The stock has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. Analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share 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.