Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 1,562,018 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 146.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,628,372 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,562,018 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.39% of Avantor worth $67,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 58.0% in the third 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. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Avantor by 1,634.9% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,530,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,839,000 after buying an additional 8,038,451 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Avantor by 653.0% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,174,736 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,740,000 after buying an additional 5,354,678 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Avantor by 557.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,675,283 shares of the company's stock worth $120,950,000 after buying an additional 3,963,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,412,000. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVTR traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.21. 10,967,709 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,461,251. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $22.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $14.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.29. Avantor, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.59 and a 1-year high of $28.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVTR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Avantor from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.69.

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.