Riverbridge Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Riverbridge Partners LLC decreased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 408,406 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 26,887 shares during the quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services accounts for about 1.5% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned about 0.56% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $91,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,130,020,000 after acquiring an additional 203,198 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,110,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,019,007,000 after acquiring an additional 44,376 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,552,036 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $835,945,000 after acquiring an additional 266,488 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,778,940 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $581,209,000 after acquiring an additional 38,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,090,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $357,238,000 after acquiring an additional 494,828 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $218.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $352.33. The company’s fifty day moving average is $213.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.77.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 18.23%. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. Analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.50.

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.