New South Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

New South Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,314,179 shares of the company's stock after selling 65,588 shares during the quarter. Avantor makes up about 1.2% of New South Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. New South Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Avantor worth $27,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 4.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $725,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Avantor by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Avantor by 45.3% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 86,225 shares of the company's stock worth $2,231,000 after buying an additional 26,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Avantor by 5.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,288,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,329,000 after buying an additional 69,818 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 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 nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $65,877.74. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVTR traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.54. The company had a trading volume of 21,403,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,338,166. The stock has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The company's 50 day moving average price is $19.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Avantor, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.37 and a 52-week high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.