Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB Reduces Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB lessened its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $3,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,716,312 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,579,876,000 after buying an additional 82,459 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 23.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,842,701 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $984,912,000 after acquiring an additional 541,540 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,719,972 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $404,796,000 after acquiring an additional 12,228 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,542,451 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $533,210,000 after purchasing an additional 35,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,269,274 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $485,459,000 after purchasing an additional 18,613 shares in the last quarter. 91.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.64, for a total transaction of $829,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,877 shares in the company, valued at $6,168,599.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.37, for a total value of $383,620.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $591,548.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.64, for a total value of $829,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,877 shares in the company, valued at $6,168,599.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 27th. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $420.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST traded up $1.37 on Tuesday, hitting $350.40. The company had a trading volume of 134,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,294. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 3.70 and a quick ratio of 2.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $363.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $369.91. The company has a market capitalization of $25.93 billion, a PE ratio of 47.10, a PEG ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 1.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.80 and a 12-month high of $415.73.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $747.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $750.31 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.11% and a return on equity of 21.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 7th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.80%.

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.