Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 403,110 shares of the company's stock after selling 94,413 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Avantor worth $8,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Avantor by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,368,244 shares of the company's stock worth $578,666,000 after purchasing an additional 8,206,695 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Avantor by 653.0% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,174,736 shares of the company's stock worth $159,740,000 after buying an additional 5,354,678 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 557.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,675,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,950,000 after buying an additional 3,963,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Avantor by 18.2% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 17,692,705 shares of the company's stock valued at $457,710,000 after acquiring an additional 2,719,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Avantor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,091,000. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the business'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 $86,019.71. Following the transaction, 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 transaction 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $65,877.74. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,531,753.87. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVTR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Avantor from $27.00 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 issued a $24.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.50.

Avantor Stock Performance

AVTR traded down $0.16 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,241,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,326,092. Avantor, Inc. has a one year low of $15.37 and a one year high of $28.00. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $18.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.63. 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 has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS 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.