Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 94.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 2,566 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 444,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $133,271,000 after buying an additional 101,710 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 784.0% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,506 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,654,000 after acquiring an additional 13,752 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 448,184 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $134,527,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $104,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services
In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.2 %
Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $321.96. The company had a trading volume of 334,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,652. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $309.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $312.40. 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 has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 24.48 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $413.70.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. 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 12.46%.
West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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