West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Purchased by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. LGT Group Foundation acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $68,854,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $64,196,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 597,106 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,281,000 after buying an additional 139,800 shares during the period. Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at $47,381,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 500,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $198,117,000 after purchasing an additional 61,247 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were 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 approximately $443,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST opened at $293.32 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a PE ratio of 41.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $299.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $324.95.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $702.10 million for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

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.