Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 146.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,628,372 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,562,018 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.39% of Avantor worth $67,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AVTR. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Avantor by 34.1% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 346,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,972,000 after purchasing an additional 88,205 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new position in shares of Avantor during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $76,412,000. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Avantor in the 2nd quarter valued at $642,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Avantor in the 3rd quarter worth $8,473,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 300,579 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Avantor Price Performance

Avantor stock opened at $21.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.44. Avantor, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.59 and a 12-month high of $28.00. The stock has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.11, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.29.

About Avantor

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.