Royce & Associates LP Sells 40,170 Shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT)

Royce & Associates LP lessened its stake in shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 831,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,170 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 1.98% of Artivion worth $23,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Artivion by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,656,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,090,000 after purchasing an additional 46,267 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Artivion by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 358,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,241,000 after purchasing an additional 8,343 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Artivion by 58.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 340,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,074,000 after purchasing an additional 125,668 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Artivion during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,798,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Artivion by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 202,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,776,000 after purchasing an additional 7,398 shares in the last quarter. 86.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artivion Stock Up 3.1 %

NYSE AORT opened at $24.15 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.66 and a 200-day moving average of $27.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,207.25 and a beta of 1.79. Artivion, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.36 and a 52 week high of $32.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.88.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.51). Artivion had a positive return on equity of 5.15% and a negative net margin of 0.22%. The company had revenue of $97.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $100.82 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AORT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Artivion in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Artivion from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Artivion from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Artivion presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.40.

Insider Transactions at Artivion

In other Artivion news, CEO James P. Mackin sold 42,156 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total transaction of $1,151,280.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 663,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,130,617.42. The trade was a 5.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 18,020 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.61, for a total value of $425,452.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 197,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,655,514.24. This represents a 8.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 90,799 shares of company stock worth $2,356,223 in the last three months. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

About Artivion

Artivion, Inc manufactures, processes, and distributes medical devices and implantable human tissues worldwide. The company provides BioGlue, a polymer consisting of bovine blood protein and an agent for cross-linking proteins for cardiac, vascular, neurologic, and pulmonary procedures; cardiac preservation services; PhotoFix, a bovine pericardial patch; and aortic arch stent grafts including E-vita Open Plus and E-vita Open Neo.