Korea Investment CORP Sells 111,200 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Korea Investment CORP cut its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 417,286 shares of the company’s stock after selling 111,200 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.06% of Avantor worth $8,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Avantor by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 188,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,980,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 2.1% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 24,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Avantor by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 99,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,103,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Avantor by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avantor Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Avantor stock opened at $16.24 on Tuesday. Avantor, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.37 and a 52-week high of $28.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $18.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.28. 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 $11.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AVTR. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avantor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.