The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 13.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,562 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 9,516 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.11% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $23,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WST. 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth $86,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of WST opened at $325.68 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $308.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $313.18. The company has a market cap of $23.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.32, a P/E/G ratio of 24.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $265.00 and a twelve month high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 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.