Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Buys 45,799 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 45.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,657 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,799 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Avantor were worth $3,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AVTR. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in Avantor by 864.7% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 298,572 shares of the company's stock worth $6,291,000 after buying an additional 267,622 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 84.7% in the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 24,409 shares of the company's stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 11,192 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its position in Avantor by 102.6% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 23,894 shares of the company's stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 12,098 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Avantor during the 4th quarter valued at $356,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Avantor by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,645,022 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,661,000 after purchasing an additional 225,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Avantor Price Performance

Avantor stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.31. 19,898,395 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,651,024. The company has a market capitalization of $9.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.07 and a 200 day moving average of $18.82. Avantor, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.82 and a 1-year high of $28.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Avantor had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other Avantor news, Director Gregory L. Summe purchased 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.00 per share, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $600,000. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AVTR. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $15.50 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Avantor from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Cowen lowered Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Seven 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.88.

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.