Atria Investments Inc Acquires 1,475 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 19.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,074 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $5.88 during trading on Thursday, reaching $338.12. The stock had a trading volume of 572,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 571,904. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $304.87 and its 200 day moving average is $316.60. The stock has a market cap of $24.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.06, a P/E/G ratio of 24.78 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

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.