KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 240,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,065,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AVTR. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Avantor by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,454,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,646,000 after purchasing an additional 285,704 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Avantor by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,759,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,079,000 after buying an additional 170,496 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Avantor by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 109,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,315,000 after buying an additional 5,483 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Avantor by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 214,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,509,000 after acquiring an additional 5,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Avantor by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 273,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,760,000 after acquiring an additional 18,480 shares during the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Avantor Stock Down 1.0 %

AVTR opened at $16.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. Avantor, Inc. has a one year low of $15.37 and a one year high of $28.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.57. 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) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AVTR shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Avantor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.50.

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.