Icon Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 784.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,506 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 13,752 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $4,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock traded down $4.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $316.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 557,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 722,986. The company's 50 day moving average is $307.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $314.66. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of 46.97, a P/E/G ratio of 24.24 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.