Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 146.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,628,372 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,562,018 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Avantor were worth $67,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 1,830.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new stake in Avantor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Avantor by 69.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Avantor by 89.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Avantor by 278.0% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 5,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AVTR shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Avantor in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avantor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.69.

Avantor Price Performance

Avantor stock opened at $21.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.44. The stock has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.29. Avantor, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.59 and a 12-month high of $28.00.

About Avantor

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.