52,900 Shares in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Acquired by River Global Investors LLP

River Global Investors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 52,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,115,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVTR. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Avantor by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,368,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $578,666,000 after acquiring an additional 8,206,695 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 653.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 5,354,678 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 557.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,675,283 shares of the company's stock worth $120,950,000 after purchasing an additional 3,963,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Avantor in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,091,000. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVTR traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $15.81. The stock had a trading volume of 10,886,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,658,473. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $19.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.37 and a 1-year high of $28.00.

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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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on AVTR shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avantor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 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 $86,019.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at $711,788.12. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 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 $65,877.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.