West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 177,583 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 224 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $53,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. North Growth Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. North Growth Management Ltd. now owns 19,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,559,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $221,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.5% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,092 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,074 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $314.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $305.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $316.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.66, a P/E/G ratio of 26.01 and a beta of 1.00. 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 released 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 business 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%. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

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

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.