Private Management Group Inc. Purchases 823,572 Shares of Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Private Management Group Inc. increased its Avantor stake by 50.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 823,572 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 2,456,859 shares worth about $28.2 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions, and overall 95.08% of Avantor stock is owned by institutions, highlighting heavy institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts remain cautious on AVTR: the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” with an average price target of $10.57, while recent insider buying by two directors suggests some confidence from within the company.

Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 50.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,456,859 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 823,572 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.36% of Avantor worth $28,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 124.8% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,907,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,617 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Avantor by 1,333.0% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 246,494 shares of the company's stock worth $3,076,000 after acquiring an additional 229,293 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Avantor by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 20,500,653 shares of the company's stock worth $234,937,000 after acquiring an additional 2,189,083 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia bought a new stake in Avantor during the third quarter worth $159,669,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Avantor by 0.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,053,368 shares of the company's stock worth $200,346,000 after acquiring an additional 119,508 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other Avantor news, Director Simon Dingemans bought 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.14 per share, for a total transaction of $203,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $203,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory T. Lucier bought 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.32 per share, with a total value of $83,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 60,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $499,200. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on AVTR shares. Zacks Research upgraded Avantor from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 price target on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Avantor from $8.50 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $11.00 price target on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $10.57.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVTR opened at $9.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of -11.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.97. Avantor, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.26 and a twelve month high of $15.93. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.63.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Avantor had a negative net margin of 8.42% and a positive return on equity of 9.95%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

About Avantor

Avantor, Inc NYSE: AVTR is a global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. The company delivers essential solutions that support research, development, production and safety applications. Its product portfolio spans from high-purity chemicals and reagents to biologics and cell culture media, as well as lab equipment, consumables and custom manufacturing services.

Avantor's offerings are organized across two primary segments.

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