Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 326,050 shares of the company’s stock after selling 88,917 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Avantor were worth $6,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew 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 period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Avantor by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position 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 valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avantor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AVTR shares. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.50.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,788.12. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 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 value of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVTR opened at $16.19 on Monday. Avantor, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.37 and a 12-month high of $28.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $18.40 and a 200 day moving average of $21.35.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

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.