Aviva PLC Grows Holdings in Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 499,533 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,108 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned 0.07% of Avantor worth $6,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Avantor by 19.8% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Avantor by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 44,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Avantor by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 191,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,580,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 83,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Avantor by 288.4% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avantor Price Performance

AVTR opened at $11.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a PE ratio of -88.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.06. Avantor, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.82 and a 52-week high of $23.32.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.01). Avantor had a negative net margin of 1.25% and a positive return on equity of 10.91%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Avantor has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.880-0.920 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AVTR. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Avantor from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $12.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Avantor from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gregory L. Summe purchased 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.25 per share, with a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 300,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,375,000. This represents a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.