Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Buys Shares of 100 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $300,250,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,961,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $690,530,000 after acquiring an additional 369,792 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $88,227,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 659,560 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $232,244,000 after purchasing an additional 183,153 shares during the period. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 457,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $161,027,000 after purchasing an additional 180,415 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST traded up $2.19 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $334.95. The company had a trading volume of 177,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 534,362. The firm has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.90, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $347.77 and a 200-day moving average of $361.28. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $310.00 and a 12 month high of $415.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 10.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.78, for a total transaction of $595,404.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,030.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.65, for a total transaction of $24,198,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,063,718.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.78, for a total transaction of $595,404.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,860 shares in the company, valued at $946,030.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.