Forsta AP Fonden Decreases Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST – Get Rating) by 11.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $12,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Modera Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $285,000. ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $179,000. National Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. National Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,124 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,283,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 9,904 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,068,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Silji Abraham sold 5,374 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Monday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.93, for a total value of $1,848,279.82. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,100,919.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $341.70 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $308.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $347.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 3.13. The stock has a market cap of $25.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.15. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $275.89 and a fifty-two week high of $475.35.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $771.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $754.25 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 23.41% and a return on equity of 29.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 9.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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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.