Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 6,763,761 Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,763,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142,512,000. Norges Bank owned 0.99% of Avantor at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Avantor by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,368,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $578,666,000 after buying an additional 8,206,695 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 557.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,675,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,950,000 after purchasing an additional 3,963,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 18.2% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 17,692,705 shares of the company's stock worth $457,710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719,615 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Avantor during the fourth quarter worth $33,091,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Avantor by 146.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,628,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,996,000 after purchasing an additional 1,562,018 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $711,788.12. This trade represents 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on AVTR shares. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Avantor in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.50.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of AVTR stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.15. 24,521,591 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,633,040. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.93 and a 52 week high of $28.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $17.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.00. 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 data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Avantor 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.