Fmr LLC Raises Stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Fmr LLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 49.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,992,096 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,316,813 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Avantor were worth $147,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Avantor by 99.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Avantor by 106.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Avantor by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Avantor during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 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 $86,019.71. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Avantor from $23.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.08.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of AVTR stock opened at $15.21 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.80 and a 200 day moving average of $20.44. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.80 and a 52 week high of $28.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current 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.