722 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Bought by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 722 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LGT Group Foundation acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $68,854,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,196,000. Iron Triangle Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,381,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 401,026 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $132,095,000 after acquiring an additional 45,208 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 207,564 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $68,370,000 after acquiring an additional 41,454 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,478 shares in the company, valued at $443,400. This represents a 41.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 7.0 %

WST opened at $314.49 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.70. 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 stock has a market cap of $22.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.66, a P/E/G ratio of 25.57 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $305.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $316.18.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for 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 business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current 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 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

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.