Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 32,222 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Avantor, Inc. by 10.0%, now owning approximately $5.73 million worth of shares.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Dodge & Cox and Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC, significantly raised their stakes in Avantor during the fourth quarter, highlighting strong institutional interest as 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Wall Street analysts have lowered their price targets for Avantor, with current consensus rating being a “Hold” and an average price target of $18.14, indicating cautious sentiment moving forward.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 353,836 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 32,222 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.05% of Avantor worth $5,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in shares of Avantor in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Avantor by 121.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 2,056 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Avantor by 52.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 19.8% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,470 shares of the company's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 137.9% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,093 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregory L. Summe acquired 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,250,000. This trade represents a 42.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have acquired a total of 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $928,000 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lowered shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $15.50 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered Avantor from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Avantor from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.23.

Avantor Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of AVTR stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $13.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,680,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,688,754. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Avantor, Inc. has a one year low of $11.82 and a one year high of $28.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $13.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.62.

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.