William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 5,492 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,485 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,492 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $21,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,634 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $288,000. ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 10,129 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,567,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $300,250,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,062,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.1 %

WST opened at $300.67 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $305.27 and a 200 day moving average of $339.03. The company has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $702.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $729.36 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.17% and a net margin of 18.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $308,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,400. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.