KBC Group NV Has $29.56 Million Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 483.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,823,686 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,511,255 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.27% of Avantor worth $29,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of Avantor by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 99,145,770 shares of the company's stock worth $2,089,001,000 after acquiring an additional 30,727,673 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in shares of Avantor by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 30,528,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $643,227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,936,879 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Avantor in the 4th quarter valued at about $142,512,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Avantor by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,158,175 shares of the company's stock worth $192,963,000 after buying an additional 2,983,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,145,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,395 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of AVTR traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $13.88. The stock had a trading volume of 6,225,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,407,448. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.05. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.82 and a 52 week high of $28.00. The company's fifty day moving average is $13.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.66.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other news, Director Joseph R. Massaro bought 8,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,630.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 35,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,967.40. This trade represents a 30.07% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory L. Summe purchased 30,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,250,000. This represents a 42.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 83,100 shares of company stock worth $1,027,630 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVTR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Avantor from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Avantor from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered Avantor from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $15.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.14.

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.