Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Artivion by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Artivion by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Artivion by 236.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Artivion by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 41,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Artivion by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,813 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. 86.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Artivion Price Performance

Shares of Artivion stock traded up $0.01 on Wednesday, reaching $28.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 338,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 318,005. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,446.00 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.25. Artivion, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.97 and a 52-week high of $32.33.

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

Insider Transactions at Artivion

In other Artivion news, CEO James P. Mackin sold 42,156 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total transaction of $1,151,280.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 663,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,130,617.42. The trade was a 5.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marshall S. Stanton sold 10,548 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.13, for a total transaction of $307,263.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 105,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,068,321.16. The trade was a 9.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 101,347 shares of company stock valued at $2,663,486 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AORT shares. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of Artivion in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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 lowered their price target on shares of Artivion from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of Artivion to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.40.

Artivion Company 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.