Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Reduces Stock Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP decreased its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 11.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,439,577 shares of the company’s stock after selling 302,501 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned about 0.36% of Avantor worth $63,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,707,000. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT acquired a new stake in Avantor during the second quarter worth $76,412,000. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Avantor in the second quarter valued at $642,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Avantor in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,473,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,157,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,547,000 after purchasing an additional 300,579 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Stock Up 2.1 %

AVTR stock opened at $20.78 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $23.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.17, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.35. Avantor, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.59 and a fifty-two week high of $28.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.06, for a total value of $88,336.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,544 shares in the company, valued at $740,372.64. This trade represents a 10.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AVTR. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Avantor from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.57.

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.