Nomura Holdings Inc. Acquires 81,671 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 945.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,310 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 81,671 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Avantor were worth $1,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AVTR. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in Avantor by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 99,145,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,089,001,000 after purchasing an additional 30,727,673 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in Avantor by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 30,528,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $643,227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,936,879 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Avantor during the 4th quarter valued at about $142,512,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Avantor by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,158,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $192,963,000 after purchasing an additional 2,983,439 shares during the period. Finally, Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Avantor by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,145,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473,395 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Avantor from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.88.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other Avantor news, Director Gregory L. Summe acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.00 per share, with a total value of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $600,000. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph R. Massaro acquired 8,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,038 shares in the company, valued at $430,967.40. This represents a 30.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of AVTR opened at $13.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business's 50 day moving average price is $14.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.61. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.82 and a 52 week high of $28.00. The stock has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.09.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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