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

Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. boosted its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 805,658 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,626 shares during the period. 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. owned about 0.12% of Avantor worth $16,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Avantor in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.50.

Avantor Stock Performance

NYSE:AVTR opened at $16.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.37 and a 1 year high of $28.00. The stock’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 price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Avantor 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.