Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Grows Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 269,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,156 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $88,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WST. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised 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 acquiring an additional 369,792 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $88,227,000. LGT Group Foundation purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,854,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,196,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 659,560 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $232,244,000 after acquiring an additional 183,153 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $308,700.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,400. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $308.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.65, a PEG ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $265.00 and a twelve month high of $413.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $303.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $337.31.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $702.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $729.36 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 19.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.