Corebridge Financial Inc. Cuts Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Corebridge Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 770,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,812 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Avantor worth $16,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 188,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,980,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Avantor by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 24,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Avantor by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Avantor by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 99,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 99.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of AVTR opened at $16.53 on Tuesday. Avantor, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.37 and a 1-year high of $28.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVTR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avantor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.50.

About Avantor

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.