Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 22.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 23,850 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $39,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 18,517 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $5,558,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Pier Capital LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.7% in the third quarter. Pier Capital LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.8% in the third quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. DF Dent & Co. Inc. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 397,152 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $119,209,000 after buying an additional 98,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 37,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $11,187,000 after buying an additional 3,012 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.
West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $2.89 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $319.27. The company had a trading volume of 302,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 564,292. The firm's fifty day moving average is $311.01 and its 200 day moving average is $311.66. 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 capitalization of $23.12 billion, a PE ratio of 47.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 24.47 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $265.00 and a twelve month 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.46%.
Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services
In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.
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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