GAMMA Investing LLC Lowers Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

GAMMA Investing LLC lessened its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 7.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 549 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 43 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WST. Pitcairn Co. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.4% during the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 875 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 778 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,495 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peninsula Asset Management Inc. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Peninsula Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,580 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,373,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.78, for a total transaction of $595,404.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,030.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST traded up $3.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $304.68. The stock had a trading volume of 428,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 574,247. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $22.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $319.93 and its 200 day moving average is $353.82. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $415.73.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its 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). West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.17% and a net margin of 18.25%. The firm had revenue of $702.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $729.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.11 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal 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.