Avantor, Inc. $AVTR Shares Sold by Swedbank AB

Key Points

• Swedbank AB reduced its stake in Avantor, Inc. by 36.3%, owning 59,814 shares worth $970,000 after selling 34,073 shares during the 1st quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Tidal Investments LLC and US Bancorp DE, increased their holdings in Avantor by significant percentages, reflecting interest from institutional investors, who own 95.08% of the stock.
• Avantor reported $0.24 EPS, missing analysts' estimates, with a quarterly revenue of $1.68 billion, down 1.1% from the previous year.

Swedbank AB lowered its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 36.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,814 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,073 shares during the period. Swedbank AB's holdings in Avantor were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avantor in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Avantor by 288.4% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,701 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in Avantor in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Avantor by 121.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Avantor by 52.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,972 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,476 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.39, for a total value of $39,591.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 55,068 shares in the company, valued at $627,224.52. The trade was a 5.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Avantor Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE AVTR traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.50. 15,921,984 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,742,452. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.82 and a 1 year high of $27.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.01). Avantor had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 10.31%.The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Avantor from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $12.00 price objective on Avantor and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Avantor from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $14.00 price objective on Avantor and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Avantor currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.50.

Avantor Company 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.