Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Holdings in Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in Avantor, Inc. by 2.0%, selling 29,160 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 1,398,734 shares valued at approximately $22.63 million.
• Several large investors recently adjusted their positions in Avantor, including King Luther Capital Management Corp., which increased its stake by 412.5%, now owning 82,000 shares worth around $1.33 million.
• Avantor's latest quarterly earnings report showed a missed EPS estimate of $0.24, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.25, with a revenue of $1.68 billion.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,398,734 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,160 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.21% of Avantor worth $22,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Avantor during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,858,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Avantor during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Avantor during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in Avantor by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,012,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,338,000 after purchasing an additional 55,481 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in Avantor during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $417,000. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avantor news, Director Gregory L. Summe acquired 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,250,000. The trade was a 42.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,476 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 55,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $627,224.52. The trade was a 5.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avantor Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Avantor stock traded down $0.2250 on Thursday, reaching $12.6550. The company had a trading volume of 1,635,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,607,878. The firm has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $13.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.61. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.82 and a 1 year high of $27.83.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during 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 last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVTR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Avantor from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $12.00 price objective on Avantor and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Avantor from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Cowen downgraded Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avantor presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.