Dudley & Shanley Inc. Has $1.76 Million Holdings in Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Dudley & Shanley Inc. reduced its stake in Avantor, Inc. by 89.0% in the second quarter, selling over 1 million shares and holding 131,000 shares by quarter's end.
• Avantor's recent quarterly earnings reports show $0.24 earnings per share, missing estimates, and revenue of $1.68 billion, which is down 1.1% from the previous year.
• Analysts generally maintain a "Hold" rating on Avantor's stock, with a consensus target price of $15.50, following recent adjustments by several firms.

Dudley & Shanley Inc. cut its position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 89.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,060,617 shares during the quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc.'s holdings in Avantor were worth $1,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVTR. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Avantor by 59.6% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,869 shares of the company's stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 7,048 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Avantor by 85.5% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,135 shares of the company's stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 5,133 shares during the last quarter. Stanley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Avantor by 42.9% during the first quarter. Stanley Capital Management LLC now owns 998,500 shares of the company's stock worth $16,186,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 14.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,380,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,381,000 after buying an additional 174,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 28.0% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,262,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,508,000 after buying an additional 1,370,577 shares during the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,476 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 55,068 shares in the company, valued at $627,224.52. This represents a 5.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AVTR. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $12.00 target price on Avantor and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price 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 target on Avantor and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of Avantor stock traded down $0.36 on Friday, reaching $12.50. 15,921,984 shares of the stock were exchanged, 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 current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.98.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.