US Bancorp DE Increases Stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 85.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,135 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,133 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Avantor were worth $180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AVTR. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new stake in Avantor during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Avantor by 121.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Avantor by 52.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Avantor by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in Avantor during the 1st quarter valued at $112,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,476 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.39, for a total value of $39,591.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 55,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,224.52. This represents a 5.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregory L. Summe acquired 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,250,000. This trade represents a 42.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVTR has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Avantor from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Avantor from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.50.

Avantor Trading Down 0.5%

Avantor stock opened at $12.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $13.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.79. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.82 and a 1 year high of $27.83. The stock has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.01). Avantor had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Avantor Company 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.