West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,059 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 47 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,135,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE WST opened at $319.35 on Wednesday. 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 $23.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.38, a P/E/G ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 1.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week high of $413.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $307.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $313.59.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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 declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost 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%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was 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 $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.