Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,748,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 116,501 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Avantor were worth $100,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AVTR. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Avantor by 4.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 15,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Avantor in the third quarter valued at $431,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Avantor by 15.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 322,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,342,000 after acquiring an additional 42,132 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Avantor by 5.1% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 26,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Avantor by 5.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Trading Up 1.4 %

Avantor stock opened at $16.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.94. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.37 and a 52 week high of $28.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research 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 for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Avantor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,531,753.87. This trade 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 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.