Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 805,658 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,626 shares during the quarter. Avantor comprises 4.4% of Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd.’s holdings in Avantor were worth $16,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 33,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 12,221 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 16,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 77,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after buying an additional 1,346 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,752,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,789,000 after buying an additional 64,781 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AVTR. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.50.

Avantor Stock Down 2.0 %

Avantor stock opened at $16.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.21. The company has a market cap of $11.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. Avantor, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.37 and a fifty-two week high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 posted $0.22 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.