Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 7,334 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 64.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,738 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 7,334 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LGT Group Foundation bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $68,854,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth about $64,196,000. Iron Triangle Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter worth about $47,381,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 401,026 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $132,095,000 after buying an additional 45,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 207,564 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $68,370,000 after buying an additional 41,454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $316.59 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.97, a PEG ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 1.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $307.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $314.28.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.