Principal Securities Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Principal Securities Inc. cut its position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 93.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,411 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,662 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Avantor were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Avantor by 54.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 28,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 9,866 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Avantor by 4.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Avantor during the third quarter worth about $2,043,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor in the third quarter valued at $8,473,000. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AVTR opened at $16.71 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.69. Avantor, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.41 and a 1-year high of $28.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.28.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVTR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.92.

Insider Activity at Avantor

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 stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.