Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 157 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,807 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 53,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $19,909,000 after buying an additional 2,002 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.4% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,575 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,341,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,346 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,381,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.5% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $497,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.78, for a total value of $595,404.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,030.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,063,718.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.78, for a total transaction of $595,404.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,030.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST traded up $0.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $321.35. 11,272 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 531,679. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $338.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $359.56. The company has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.34, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $310.00 and a 1-year high of $415.73.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.55%.

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.