State of Alaska Department of Revenue Decreases Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,510 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,115 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $4,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 155.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 97 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was 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 $56,063,718.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was 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 $946,030.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.65, for a total value of $24,198,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,063,718.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $320.90 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $310.00 and a 1 year high of $415.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $338.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $359.56. The company has a market cap of $23.37 billion, a PE ratio of 42.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.00.

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 (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 10.55%.

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.