The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 474 Shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,122 shares of the company’s stock after selling 474 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Artivion were worth $547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Artivion by 236.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Artivion in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI acquired a new stake in Artivion during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Artivion during the 4th quarter worth $78,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Artivion by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Artivion to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Artivion in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Artivion in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Artivion from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.40.

Artivion Price Performance

Shares of AORT stock opened at $29.46 on Friday. Artivion, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.97 and a 12-month high of $32.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,473.00 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.64 and a 200-day moving average of $27.30.

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.06). Artivion had a negative net margin of 0.22% and a positive return on equity of 5.15%. The firm had revenue of $98.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.81 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Artivion, Inc. will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 5,335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total value of $145,698.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 149,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,091,010.69. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James P. Mackin sold 42,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total transaction of $1,151,280.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 663,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,130,617.42. The trade was a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 101,347 shares of company stock valued at $2,663,486 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 7.60% of the company’s stock.

About Artivion

Artivion, Inc manufactures, processes, and distributes medical devices and implantable human tissues worldwide. The company provides BioGlue, a polymer consisting of bovine blood protein and an agent for cross-linking proteins for cardiac, vascular, neurologic, and pulmonary procedures; cardiac preservation services; PhotoFix, a bovine pericardial patch; and aortic arch stent grafts including E-vita Open Plus and E-vita Open Neo.