Arizona State Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 8th, 2023

Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR – Get Rating) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 190,791 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,212 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Avantor were worth $4,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Avantor by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 254,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,345,000 after purchasing an additional 14,229 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Avantor by 442.4% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 84,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,647,000 after purchasing an additional 68,559 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor during the third quarter worth approximately $599,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor during the third quarter worth approximately $10,225,000. Finally, Maven Securities LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor during the third quarter worth approximately $449,000. 88.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AVTR. Bank of America dropped their price target on Avantor from $30.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Sunday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Avantor from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Avantor from $27.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Avantor from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avantor news, EVP Christophe Couturier sold 3,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.24, for a total transaction of $74,610.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 94,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,287,528.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christophe Couturier sold 3,078 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.24, for a total value of $74,610.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,287,528.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gerard Brophy sold 3,914 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $97,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 108,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,717,875. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,490 shares of company stock worth $204,188 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Avantor Price Performance

AVTR stock opened at $20.05 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $13.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 1.33. Avantor, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.91 and a 12-month high of $33.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.64.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. Avantor had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 8.41%. The company had revenue of $1.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. Avantor’s revenue was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.3 EPS for the current year.

Avantor Profile

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Avantor, Inc engages in providing mission critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education and government, and advanced technologies and applied materials industries. It sells materials, equipment, instrumentation, and offers specialty procurement. The firm operates through the following segments: the Americas, Europe, and AMEA.