Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 317,126 Shares of Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Geode Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,978,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 317,126 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Avantor were worth $137,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 119.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Avantor in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Avantor by 60.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Avantor by 28.1% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of NYSE:AVTR opened at $9.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $8.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.68. Avantor, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.26 and a 12-month high of $15.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 8.42%.The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AVTR. Wall Street Zen cut Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Zacks Research raised Avantor from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $11.00 target price on Avantor in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Avantor from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Avantor from $8.50 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.57.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other news, Director Sanjeev K. Mehra bought 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 475,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,804,750. This trade represents a 35.71% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Simon Dingemans bought 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.14 per share, with a total value of $203,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 160,000 shares of company stock worth $1,287,950. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Profile

Avantor, Inc (NYSE:AVTR) is a global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. The company delivers essential solutions that support research, development, production and safety applications. Its product portfolio spans from high-purity chemicals and reagents to biologics and cell culture media, as well as lab equipment, consumables and custom manufacturing services.

Avantor’s offerings are organized across two primary segments.