Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Buys 12,745 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 43.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 12,745 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $12,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 42,077 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $12,630,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 24.5% in the third quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,476 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 24.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,511 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the period. AMI Asset Management Corp lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 184,146 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $55,273,000 after acquiring an additional 24,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of WST traded down $6.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $323.30. The stock had a trading volume of 458,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 570,374. The firm has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 23.71 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $318.23. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $265.00 and a twelve month high of $413.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.69 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is 12.46%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $308,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at $443,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.