Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 88,917 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 99.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Avantor by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Avantor by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Avantor by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Avantor during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on AVTR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avantor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at $711,788.12. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Price Performance

Avantor stock opened at $16.19 on Monday. 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 52 week low of $15.37 and a 52 week high of $28.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.40 and a 200-day moving average of $21.35.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its earnings results 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 last year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.