Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 35.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,175,509 shares of the company's stock after selling 648,238 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.17% of Avantor worth $24,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Avantor by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Avantor by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Avantor by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Avantor by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Avantor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Avantor Trading Up 4.3%

AVTR traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $13.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,017,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,776,945. Avantor, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.82 and a fifty-two week high of $28.00. The stock has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.09. The business's 50-day moving average is $14.76 and its 200-day moving average is $18.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In other Avantor news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $65,877.74. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $86,019.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at $711,788.12. This trade represents a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVTR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $23.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays dropped their price target on Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered Avantor from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Avantor from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avantor currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.88.

Avantor Company 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.