Arizona State Retirement System Trims Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Arizona State Retirement System cut its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 241 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $6,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at $6,917,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 34,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,118,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at $216,000. Fiera Capital Corp grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.6% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 124,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,953,000 after purchasing an additional 4,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 217,809 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $71,744,000 after buying an additional 4,822 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $297.24 on Monday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $341.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $21.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.21, a PEG ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.22). West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.17% and a net margin of 18.25%. The business had revenue of $702.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $729.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.11 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.78, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $308,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $443,400. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.