New South Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

New South Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,314,179 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,588 shares during the quarter. Avantor makes up about 1.2% of New South Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. New South Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Avantor were worth $27,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 346,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,972,000 after buying an additional 88,205 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,766,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,228,000 after buying an additional 493,408 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $555,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,922,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,504,000 after buying an additional 33,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 45.8% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 723,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,708,000 after buying an additional 227,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Avantor stock opened at $15.75 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $15.37 and a one year high of $28.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.47.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $0.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,788.12. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVTR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.50.

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.