Shelton Capital Management Sells 1,005 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Shelton Capital Management trimmed its holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,659 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,005 shares during the quarter. Shelton Capital Management’s holdings in Avantor were worth $541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Avantor by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Avantor by 106.3% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Avantor by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Avantor by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Avantor during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AVTR. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.50.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $65,877.74. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Avantor Trading Up 11.6 %

Avantor stock opened at $15.93 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $17.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.63. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.80 and a 1 year high of $28.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.