Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Acquired by Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 61,596 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,260 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Avantor were worth $1,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AVTR. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Avantor by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 346,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,972,000 after buying an additional 88,205 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 493,408 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor during the fourth quarter worth $555,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,922,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,504,000 after acquiring an additional 33,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Avantor by 45.8% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 723,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,708,000 after purchasing an additional 227,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of AVTR opened at $16.19 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.35. The firm has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. Avantor, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.37 and a 12-month high of $28.00. 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 net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AVTR shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $86,019.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avantor 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.