Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Acquired by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,921,765 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,800 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Avantor were worth $61,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 122.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,000 after buying an additional 16,818 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Avantor by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 76,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,968,000 after acquiring an additional 7,592 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in Avantor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,575,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd bought a new stake in Avantor during the 3rd quarter valued at $497,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Avantor by 557.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,675,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,950,000 after acquiring an additional 3,963,912 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVTR opened at $16.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.40 and a 200-day moving average of $21.42. Avantor, Inc. has a one year low of $15.37 and a one year high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avantor currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.