Holocene Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 41.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 109,440 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 76,693 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP owned approximately 0.15% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $32,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centiva Capital LP increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 5,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 248.3% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 1,373 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 369.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 5,168 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,551,000 after buying an additional 4,066 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,781,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Allan Corp grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 112.4% in the 3rd quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 7,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,101,000 after buying an additional 3,705 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.4 %
Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $1.36 on Tuesday, reaching $321.29. The stock had a trading volume of 215,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 551,390. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $309.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.67, a P/E/G ratio of 24.48 and a beta of 1.01.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is currently 12.46%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.
About West Pharmaceutical Services
(
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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