Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT) by 4.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 107,199 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,980 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Artivion were worth $2,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AORT. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Artivion by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 3,217 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Artivion by 70.5% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 19,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 7,940 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Artivion by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,664,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,388,000 after purchasing an additional 33,982 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Artivion by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 34,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 2,531 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Artivion by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 1,634 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.37% of the company’s stock.

Artivion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AORT opened at $28.27 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.60. Artivion, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.48 and a 12 month high of $30.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,413.50 and a beta of 1.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Artivion from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Artivion in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Artivion from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of Artivion in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Amy Horton sold 12,430 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.18, for a total transaction of $325,417.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 139,989 shares in the company, valued at $3,664,912.02. This trade represents a 8.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jean F. Holloway sold 3,167 shares of Artivion stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.55, for a total transaction of $84,083.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 161,932 shares in the company, valued at $4,299,294.60. This represents a 1.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Artivion Company Profile

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.