Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 69.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 274,025 shares of the company's stock after selling 613,825 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Avantor were worth $5,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Avantor by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 188,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,980,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted 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 last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted 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. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Avantor by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 138,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,917,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AVTR. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $23.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $15.50 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, April 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.88.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of AVTR traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $13.32. 1,894,018 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,772,002. The company has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.07. Avantor, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.82 and a 52-week high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In related news, Director Gregory L. Summe acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.00 per share, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $600,000. This represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of Avantor 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 directly owns 87,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.