Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) is Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 41.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,528,092 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,936,879 shares during the period. Avantor comprises 2.2% of Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned approximately 4.49% of Avantor worth $643,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Avantor by 122.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $790,000 after buying an additional 16,818 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,575,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 557.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,675,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,950,000 after acquiring an additional 3,963,912 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Avantor by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 259,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,726,000 after purchasing an additional 27,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Avantor by 15.0% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 41,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 5,375 shares during the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 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 value of $86,019.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,788.12. This trade represents 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 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 $65,877.74. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVTR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price target (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.50.

Avantor Trading Up 0.1 %

AVTR stock opened at $16.19 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.39. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.37 and a 52 week high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current 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.