National Bank of Canada FI Raises Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 3,012 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.05% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $11,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,183,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,135,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.2% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $318.04. 399,048 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 563,600. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $311.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.66. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The company has a market cap of $23.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 24.47 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company 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 firm's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. On average, analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.