Van ECK Associates Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,326 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 722 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $3,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 42,077 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,630,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 24.5% during the third quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,476 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 24.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,511 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.1% during the third quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 184,146 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $55,273,000 after purchasing an additional 24,218 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $308,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $324.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.47 billion, a PE ratio of 48.09, a P/E/G ratio of 24.91 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $303.33 and a 200-day moving average of $317.40. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. 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 payout ratio is 11.87%.

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.