The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 7,632,892 Shares of Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its Avantor stake by 87.4%, selling 7.63 million shares in the first quarter and retaining 1.10 million shares valued at approximately $8.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.08% of the company.
• Avantor reported quarterly revenue of $1.69 billion and adjusted earnings of $0.21 per share, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.61 billion and $0.19, respectively. The company reaffirmed fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $0.80–$0.83.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $12.00. AVTR recently traded at $13.65, above the consensus target, while a company director purchased 10,000 shares in May.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 87.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,101,504 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,632,892 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.16% of Avantor worth $8,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 119.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Avantor by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,769 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Avantor during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Avantor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Avantor by 60.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,810 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Avantor Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of AVTR stock opened at $13.65 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $10.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.45. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.26 and a 52 week high of $15.93. The stock has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.26, a PEG ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.02. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 8.81%.The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.830 EPS. Analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AVTR shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Avantor from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Avantor from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $10.50 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Avantor from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Avantor from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avantor has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregory T. Lucier purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.32 per share, with a total value of $83,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 60,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,200. This represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Avantor Profile

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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