Vestcor Inc Sells 13,700 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

by · The Markets Daily

Vestcor Inc lessened its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR – Free Report) by 55.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,913 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,700 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Avantor were worth $230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVTR. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Avantor by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 717,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,123,000 after purchasing an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. lifted its position in Avantor by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. now owns 805,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,975,000 after purchasing an additional 48,626 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Avantor by 58.4% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 33,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 12,221 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Avantor by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 16,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Avantor by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 77,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AVTR. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Three 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, Avantor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.50.

Read Our Latest Research Report on AVTR

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In related news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVTR opened at $17.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.37 and a 1 year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avantor Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Read More