B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Buys 40,764 Shares of Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its holdings in Avantor, Inc. by 34.2%, acquiring an additional 40,764 shares to reach a total of 160,013 shares worth approximately $2.59 million.
• Institutional investors currently hold 95.08% of Avantor's stock, with various firms making significant stake adjustments in the first quarter, including Northwestern Mutual increasing by 288.4%.
• Avantor reported a quarterly earnings miss with $0.24 earnings per share, falling short of analysts' expectation of $0.25, while the company saw a marginal revenue decline of 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 34.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 160,013 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 40,764 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Avantor were worth $2,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AVTR. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Avantor by 288.4% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor during the first quarter worth about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Avantor by 121.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, S Bank Fund Management Ltd bought a new stake in Avantor in the first quarter worth $80,000. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,476 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.39, for a total transaction of $39,591.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 55,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,224.52. The trade was a 5.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVTR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $12.00 target price on Avantor and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $14.00 target price on shares of Avantor and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Avantor from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.50.

Avantor Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Avantor stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.22. 5,127,337 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,851,187. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.98. Avantor, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.82 and a twelve month high of $27.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.16.

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