Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 855 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 321,614 shares of the company’s stock after selling 855 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Avantor were worth $6,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Avantor by 34.1% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 346,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,972,000 after buying an additional 88,205 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in Avantor by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,766,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,228,000 after acquiring an additional 493,408 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Avantor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $555,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,922,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,504,000 after acquiring an additional 33,692 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $18,708,000 after acquiring an additional 227,200 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Avantor Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of AVTR opened at $16.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. Avantor, Inc. has a one year low of $15.37 and a one year high of $28.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVTR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avantor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.50.

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.