Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 167,646 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Avantor, Inc. by 41.6%, selling 167,646 shares to hold a total of 235,464 shares valued at approximately $3.8 million.
• Other investors have shown mixed activity, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing holdings by 121.6%, while Wealthquest Corp acquired a new stake of $34,000 in Avantor during the same quarter.
• Analyst ratings for Avantor have declined, with TD Cowen and Goldman Sachs downgrading their ratings, setting a new consensus target price of $15.50.

Natixis Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 41.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 235,464 shares of the company's stock after selling 167,646 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Avantor were worth $3,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in shares of Avantor in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 121.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 2,056 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 52.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,972 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Avantor by 19.8% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,470 shares of the company's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Avantor by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other news, Director Gregory L. Summe bought 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,250,000. This trade represents a 42.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $39,591.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 55,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $627,224.52. This trade represents a 5.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avantor Stock Up 1.1%

Avantor stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.51. 11,659,969 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,705,580. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.82 and a 1 year high of $27.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.19. The firm has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.96.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Avantor had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 10.31%. Avantor's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen cut 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Avantor from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $14.00 price target on shares of Avantor and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.50.

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.