Olstein Capital Management L.P. Boosts Stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 59.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 568,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 212,000 shares during the quarter. Avantor accounts for approximately 1.7% of Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Olstein Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.08% of Avantor worth $9,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Avantor by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Avantor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 137.9% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,112 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVTR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen cut Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.50 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Avantor from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.88.

Avantor Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE AVTR opened at $13.08 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $13.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.66. The stock has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Avantor, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.82 and a 52-week high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregory L. Summe bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.00 per share, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $600,000. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph R. Massaro purchased 8,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.30 per share, with a total value of $99,630.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 35,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,967.40. The trade was a 30.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 83,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,027,630. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.