West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Purchased by AMI Asset Management Corp

AMI Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 164,738 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,217 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services accounts for 3.3% of AMI Asset Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $65,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,002,632 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,170,007,000 after acquiring an additional 104,740 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,105,589 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $741,420,000 after buying an additional 28,010 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,961,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $690,530,000 after buying an additional 369,792 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,414,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $498,049,000 after buying an additional 109,369 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $300,250,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of WST stock traded down $1.70 on Thursday, hitting $320.90. The stock had a trading volume of 227,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 582,882. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $310.00 and a twelve month high of $415.73. The firm has a market cap of $23.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.40, a PEG ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $339.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $359.83.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.55%.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

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

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.