The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Boosts Stock Holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 48.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,158,175 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,983,439 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 1.35% of Avantor worth $192,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Avantor by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Avantor by 106.3% during the fourth 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 grew its holdings in Avantor by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Avantor by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Avantor during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at $711,788.12. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph R. Massaro bought 8,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,630.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,038 shares in the company, valued at $430,967.40. This represents a 30.07 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Avantor Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE AVTR traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.87. 8,789,299 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,357,802. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.20 and a 1 year high of $28.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.46.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVTR. Cowen cut Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $26.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.