Bank of America Corp DE Decreases Stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 62.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,395,433 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,058,268 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.35% of Avantor worth $50,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position 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 buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Avantor by 106.3% during the 4th 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 grew its position in shares of Avantor by 76.7% during the 4th 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. grew its position in shares of Avantor by 56.3% during the 4th 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AVTR. Cowen downgraded shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays cut their target price on Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Avantor from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Avantor currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other Avantor news, Director Joseph R. Massaro bought 8,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,630.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 35,038 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $430,967.40. This trade represents a 30.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Avantor Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:AVTR traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $13.37. 10,614,572 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,806,096. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $14.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.50. Avantor, Inc. has a one year low of $11.82 and a one year high of $28.00. The company has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.09.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. The business's revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict 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.