Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 151,034 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,123,641 shares of the company’s stock after selling 151,034 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.46% of Avantor worth $65,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Avantor by 34.1% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 346,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,972,000 after acquiring an additional 88,205 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,766,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,228,000 after purchasing an additional 493,408 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $555,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,922,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,504,000 after buying an additional 33,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 45.8% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 723,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,708,000 after buying an additional 227,200 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the business’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 value of $86,019.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the business’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 $65,877.74. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AVTR. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price target (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.50.

Avantor Price Performance

NYSE:AVTR opened at $16.68 on Thursday. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.37 and a 52 week high of $28.00. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.84. The firm has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

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.