Raymond James & Associates Grows Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,545 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.11% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $23,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Findlay Park Partners LLP raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 30.6% in the first quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 597,106 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $236,281,000 after acquiring an additional 139,800 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.8% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 593,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $195,556,000 after buying an additional 37,702 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 500,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $198,117,000 after buying an additional 61,247 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 401,026 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $132,095,000 after acquiring an additional 45,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 301,339 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $99,258,000 after acquiring an additional 26,947 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $308,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at $443,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 6.9 %

WST stock traded down $22.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $307.92. 1,486,236 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 563,827. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $300.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $322.86. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week high of $413.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.80, a PEG ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.34. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.17% and a net margin of 18.25%. The business 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 company earned $2.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.38%.

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.