Allworth Financial LP Sells 242 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Allworth Financial LP lowered its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 109 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 242 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $33,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 191,469 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $75,766,000 after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,849 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 5,807 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,192,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 26.8% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 13,612 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,386,000 after acquiring an additional 2,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 2,329 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST opened at $316.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.92 billion, a PE ratio of 46.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 23.58 and a beta of 1.01. 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 50-day moving average price of $301.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $319.76. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $443,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.