Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Boosts Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,070 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE owned 0.05% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $15,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,002,632 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,170,007,000 after buying an additional 104,740 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,105,589 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $741,420,000 after acquiring an additional 28,010 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,961,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $690,530,000 after acquiring an additional 369,792 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,414,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $498,049,000 after acquiring an additional 109,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $300,250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $595,404.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,030.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other 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 value of $24,198,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,063,718.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,860 shares in the company, valued at $946,030.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $324.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.95. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $310.00 and a 1 year high of $415.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $341.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $360.35. The stock has a market cap of $23.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.82, a PEG ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.00.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.55%.

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.