Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Stake in Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 597.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 424,817 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 363,931 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Avantor were worth $3,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Avantor by 119.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Avantor during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 60.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In other news, Director Gregory T. Lucier bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.32 per share, with a total value of $83,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 60,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,200. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Simon Dingemans bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.14 per share, with a total value of $203,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $203,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVTR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, May 14th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $9.00 price target for the company. UBS Group set a $8.00 price target on shares of Avantor in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Evercore set a $10.50 price objective on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Avantor from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avantor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.62.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of Avantor stock opened at $11.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of -13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.40 and a 200 day moving average of $9.41. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.26 and a 52 week high of $15.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Avantor had a negative net margin of 8.42% and a positive return on equity of 9.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

About Avantor

Avantor, Inc (NYSE:AVTR) is a global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. The company delivers essential solutions that support research, development, production and safety applications. Its product portfolio spans from high-purity chemicals and reagents to biologics and cell culture media, as well as lab equipment, consumables and custom manufacturing services.

Avantor’s offerings are organized across two primary segments.