Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,411 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,411 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Avantor were worth $1,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVTR. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,368,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,666,000 after acquiring an additional 8,206,695 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 653.0% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,174,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,740,000 after acquiring an additional 5,354,678 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 557.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,675,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,950,000 after acquiring an additional 3,963,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 17,692,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,710,000 after acquiring an additional 2,719,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 4th quarter worth $33,091,000. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $86,019.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $711,788.12. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVTR has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avantor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.50.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVTR opened at $16.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. Avantor, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.37 and a twelve month high of $28.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.06.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share 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 last year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current 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.