West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Holdings Reduced by Riverbridge Partners LLC

Riverbridge Partners LLC cut its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 10.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 208,015 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 24,499 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services makes up approximately 2.3% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned 0.30% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $77,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,387,990,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,348,698 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,202,183,000 after buying an additional 54,920 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at about $733,733,000. Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at about $728,168,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 644,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $161,428,000 after buying an additional 296,639 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Annette Favorite sold 8,135 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $340.81, for a total transaction of $2,772,489.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,740,944.45. This trade represents a 32.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 15,659 shares of company stock worth $5,443,749 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE WST opened at $412.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.13. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $223.83 and a 52 week high of $438.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $375.98 and a 200-day moving average of $318.22.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $874.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $827.12 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 18.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 9.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WST shares. Morgan Stanley raised West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $340.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $412.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.67.

West Pharmaceutical Services Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services designs and manufactures packaging components and delivery systems used by the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. Its products help contain and administer injectable medicines and include elastomeric components, such as stoppers and seals, as well as syringe components and other packaging and delivery solutions. The company also provides contract manufacturing services for medical devices and pharmaceutical delivery systems. Its customers include companies developing and producing branded, generic, and biologic medicines.