State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 1,600 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,180 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $3,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 820.0% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 138 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST opened at $307.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $301.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $320.19. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $22.30 billion, a PE ratio of 45.68, a P/E/G ratio of 23.68 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $308,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.