State Street Corp Has $964.85 Million Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 10,060 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned about 4.44% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $964,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services 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 value of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $4.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $322.49. The stock had a trading volume of 223,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,306. The company has a 50-day moving average of $310.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $311.95. 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 fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The company has a market cap of $23.35 billion, a PE ratio of 47.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 24.47 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.