UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Cuts Stake in Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its holdings in shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 316,201 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,686 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.75% of Artivion worth $9,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Artivion by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,041,992 shares of the company's stock worth $29,791,000 after acquiring an additional 226,160 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Artivion in the fourth quarter worth about $5,573,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Artivion during the fourth quarter worth about $4,771,000. Next Century Growth Investors LLC grew its position in shares of Artivion by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 492,653 shares of the company's stock worth $14,085,000 after purchasing an additional 112,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in Artivion by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 306,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,769,000 after buying an additional 88,902 shares during the last quarter. 86.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Artivion Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:AORT traded up $0.18 on Wednesday, hitting $28.63. 281,558 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 332,513. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of -1,431.50 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.87 and a 200-day moving average of $27.42. Artivion, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.97 and a fifty-two week high of $32.33.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.06). Artivion had a negative net margin of 0.22% and a positive return on equity of 5.15%. The company had revenue of $98.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.81 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on AORT shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Artivion in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Artivion from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Artivion in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded Artivion to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Artivion currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Artivion news, insider John E. Davis sold 15,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.61, for a total transaction of $356,511.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 208,778 shares in the company, valued at $4,929,248.58. This represents a 6.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 10,548 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.13, for a total transaction of $307,263.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 105,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,068,321.16. The trade was a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,942 shares of company stock worth $1,704,794 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Artivion Profile

Artivion, Inc manufactures, processes, and distributes medical devices and implantable human tissues worldwide. The company provides BioGlue, a polymer consisting of bovine blood protein and an agent for cross-linking proteins for cardiac, vascular, neurologic, and pulmonary procedures; cardiac preservation services; PhotoFix, a bovine pericardial patch; and aortic arch stent grafts including E-vita Open Plus and E-vita Open Neo.