Korea Investment CORP Decreases Stock Holdings in Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP has reduced its stake in Avantor, Inc. by 37.5% during the first quarter, now holding 260,786 shares valued at $4,227,000 after selling 156,500 shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Northern Trust Corp and American Century Companies Inc., have increased their positions in Avantor during the same period, indicating a mixed outlook among investors.
• Avantor's stock currently holds a consensus average rating of "Hold" with a target price of $15.50, reflecting cautious sentiment after a report of $0.24 earnings per share for its latest quarter, missing analyst expectations.

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 37.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 260,786 shares of the company's stock after selling 156,500 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in Avantor were worth $4,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,257 shares of the company's stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. American Trust grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. American Trust now owns 15,198 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 82,523 shares of the company's stock worth $1,767,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 9.0% during the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,673 shares of the company's stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew 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 during the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,476 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.39, for a total transaction of $39,591.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly 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. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Avantor Price Performance

NYSE:AVTR traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $13.20. 5,885,367 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,874,028. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $13.13 and its 200-day moving average is $14.32. The firm has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.96. Avantor, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.82 and a twelve month high of $27.83.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Avantor's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AVTR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Avantor from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Avantor from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $13.00 target price (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Avantor from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.50.

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.