SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 121.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,354 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,358 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Avantor were worth $1,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Avantor by 2.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 28,561,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,298,000 after acquiring an additional 624,369 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Avantor by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 22,927,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,059,000 after buying an additional 1,463,695 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Avantor by 14.9% during the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 9,120,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,109,000 after buying an additional 1,180,937 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Avantor by 1,634.9% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 8,530,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,839,000 after acquiring an additional 8,038,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Avantor by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,099,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,544,000 after purchasing an additional 297,534 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of AVTR opened at $24.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Avantor, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.63 and a 52-week high of $28.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.36. The company has a market capitalization of $16.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.33.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.02. Avantor had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Research analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AVTR shares. Citigroup downgraded shares of Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Avantor from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Avantor in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Avantor from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avantor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.06, for a total transaction of $88,336.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,544 shares in the company, valued at $740,372.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

About Avantor

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.