Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Stock Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 326,050 shares of the company's stock after selling 88,917 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Avantor were worth $6,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 122.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,538 shares of the company's stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 16,818 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in Avantor in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,575,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Avantor by 557.2% in 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 during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Avantor by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 259,985 shares of the company's stock worth $6,726,000 after buying an additional 27,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Avantor by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 41,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 5,375 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avantor news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the business'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 value of $86,019.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,788.12. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AVTR shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Avantor in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.50.

Avantor Price Performance

AVTR traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.15. 24,521,591 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,626,558. The company has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.04. 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 $14.78 and a 52-week high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.