South Dakota Investment Council Buys Shares of 45,000 Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

South Dakota Investment Council purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $948,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AVTR. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of Avantor by 34.1% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 346,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,972,000 after purchasing an additional 88,205 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in Avantor by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,766,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,228,000 after buying an additional 493,408 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Avantor in the third quarter worth about $8,473,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Avantor in the fourth quarter worth about $555,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,922,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,504,000 after buying an additional 33,692 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Avantor Price Performance

NYSE:AVTR opened at $17.31 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.96 and its 200 day moving average is $22.93. Avantor, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.14 and a 12 month high of $28.00. The company has a market capitalization of $11.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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 MarketBeat.com, Avantor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.92.

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.