The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,562 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 9,516 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.11% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $23,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 174,725 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $54,339,000 after buying an additional 16,480 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,081 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth about $475,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 10,870 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,263,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business's 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock traded up $2.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $325.68. 305,786 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 572,081. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $413.70. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $308.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $312.89. The firm has a market cap of $23.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.32, a PEG ratio of 24.60 and a beta of 1.00.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

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.