Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires Shares of 207,299 Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 207,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,377,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AVTR. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Avantor by 34.1% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 346,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,972,000 after acquiring an additional 88,205 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,766,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,228,000 after purchasing an additional 493,408 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Avantor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $555,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Avantor by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,922,368 shares of the company's stock worth $40,504,000 after buying an additional 33,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Avantor by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,027,636 shares of the company's stock worth $63,792,000 after buying an additional 74,735 shares during the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVTR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.08.

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Avantor Trading Up 1.4 %

Avantor stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $15.44. 853,563 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,839,513. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $10.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.44. Avantor, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.80 and a 12-month high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company earned $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.