Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 51,398 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,133,331 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,398 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.17% of Avantor worth $28,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 34.1% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 346,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,972,000 after acquiring an additional 88,205 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new position in Avantor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,412,000. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in Avantor in the second quarter valued at about $642,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Avantor during the third quarter worth about $8,473,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 35.1% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,157,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,547,000 after buying an additional 300,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Trading Down 4.0 %

NYSE AVTR opened at $21.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.29 and its 200-day moving average is $23.49. Avantor, Inc. has a one year low of $19.59 and a one year high of $28.00. The firm has a market cap of $14.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Avantor from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.69.

Avantor 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.