Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 19,929 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,201,171 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,929 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Avantor worth $46,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AVTR. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Avantor by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Avantor by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Avantor by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Avantor by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of AVTR opened at $15.79 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.20. Avantor, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.37 and a 12-month high of $28.00. The stock has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avantor news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $65,877.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AVTR. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.50.

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.