New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Takes $1.31 Million Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 62,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,311,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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 acquiring an additional 88,205 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in Avantor by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,766,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,228,000 after purchasing an additional 493,408 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Avantor during the fourth quarter worth about $555,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Avantor by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,922,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,504,000 after purchasing an additional 33,692 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Avantor by 45.8% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AVTR shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup cut their target price on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avantor Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AVTR stock opened at $16.19 on Monday. Avantor, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.37 and a fifty-two week high of $28.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.