West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stake Raised by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 199.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 396,780 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned approximately 0.82% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $178,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,756 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,037 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 525.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,990 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,515,000 after purchasing an additional 15,952 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,074 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after buying an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 53,747 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $16,133,000 after buying an additional 4,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.9 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $322.78 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $413.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.38 billion, a PE ratio of 47.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 24.71 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $308.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $312.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued 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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

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.