American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 170,496 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,759,803 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 170,496 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.26% of Avantor worth $37,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 34.1% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 346,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,972,000 after acquiring an additional 88,205 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in Avantor by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,766,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,228,000 after purchasing an additional 493,408 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avantor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $555,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,922,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,504,000 after buying an additional 33,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 45.8% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 723,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,708,000 after buying an additional 227,200 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Avantor Trading Down 0.7 %

AVTR stock opened at $16.17 on Friday. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.37 and a 52 week high of $28.00. The company has a market capitalization of $11.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $86,019.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $65,877.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVTR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.50.

About Avantor

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.