Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 11,030 Shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Artivion, Inc. by 10.4% in Q1, after selling 11,030 shares, bringing its total ownership to 94,739 shares valued at approximately $2.33 million.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their stakes in Artivion, with Wasatch Advisors LP raising its position by 27.7% in the fourth quarter.
• Artivion has received positive analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $32.40.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,739 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,030 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Artivion worth $2,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AORT. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Artivion by 104.2% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 83,754 shares of the company's stock worth $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 42,737 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Artivion by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 206,777 shares of the company's stock worth $5,083,000 after acquiring an additional 4,749 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Artivion in the first quarter worth $7,650,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Artivion by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 20,519 shares of the company's stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Artivion in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. 86.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AORT. Canaccord Genuity Group initiated coverage on Artivion in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Citizens Jmp upgraded Artivion to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Artivion in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Artivion in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 9,926 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $287,854.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 187,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,430,482. The trade was a 5.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 26,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.44, for a total transaction of $743,194.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 79,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,252,448. This represents a 24.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 72,954 shares of company stock worth $2,108,525 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Artivion Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AORT traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.02. The company had a trading volume of 54,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,271. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a current ratio of 5.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of -62.07 and a beta of 1.62. Artivion, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.97 and a twelve month high of $32.94. The stock's 50 day moving average is $30.27 and its 200-day moving average is $27.90.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 5.49% and a positive return on equity of 3.63%. The firm had revenue of $98.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.81 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Artivion

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.