PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 2,227 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,505 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,227 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Avantor were worth $959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Avantor by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,368,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,666,000 after purchasing an additional 8,206,695 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Avantor by 18.2% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 17,692,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719,615 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Avantor by 7.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,150,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,791,000 after buying an additional 739,667 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 7,612,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,397,000 after buying an additional 848,814 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 653.0% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,174,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,740,000 after buying an additional 5,354,678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other Avantor 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 transaction 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. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 currently owned by insiders.

Avantor Stock Performance

NYSE:AVTR opened at $16.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $19.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.94. Avantor, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.37 and a twelve month high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $0.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.50.

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.