Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

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

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Avantor by 2,003.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Avantor by 1,830.3% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new position in shares of Avantor in the third quarter valued at $49,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Avantor by 69.6% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,285 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AVTR. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Avantor from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.57.

Avantor Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE AVTR opened at $22.59 on Friday. Avantor, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.08 and a 1-year high of $28.00. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $24.91 and a 200-day moving average of $24.12. The firm has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a PE ratio of 49.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.06, for a total value of $88,336.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $740,372.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.