Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Grows Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,469 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $75,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Copperwynd Financial LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 778 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Peninsula Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Peninsula Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,580 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,373,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.9% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $320.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $338.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $359.56. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $310.00 and a 12-month high of $415.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.95 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $670.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was 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 $946,030.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $946,030.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,063,718.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.