Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Lowers Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD trimmed its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 12.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,032,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 294,504 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $804,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,002,632 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,170,007,000 after buying an additional 104,740 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,105,589 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $741,420,000 after buying an additional 28,010 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,961,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $690,530,000 after buying an additional 369,792 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,414,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $498,049,000 after buying an additional 109,369 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $300,250,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 2.7 %

WST traded up $7.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $284.76. 1,190,418 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 675,234. The firm has a market cap of $20.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $324.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $355.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $415.73.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $702.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $729.36 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 18.78%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.78, for a total value of $595,404.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,860 shares in the company, valued at $946,030.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.65, for a total value of $24,198,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at $56,063,718.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.78, for a total transaction of $595,404.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,860 shares in the company, valued at $946,030.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products.