FMR LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 199.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 396,780 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned 0.82% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $178,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter worth about $211,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 525.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,990 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,515,000 after purchasing an additional 15,952 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 87.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 2,189 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.3% in the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 11,651 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,838,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.0% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,323 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.
West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.0 %
WST stock traded down $3.28 on Tuesday, hitting $319.37. 103,223 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 568,650. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 24.71 and a beta of 1.01. The business's fifty day moving average is $309.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. 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 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 $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 payout ratio is 12.46%.
Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services
In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the firm'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 directly owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.
About West Pharmaceutical Services
(
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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