Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 10.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,088 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $205,114,000 after buying an additional 122,361 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after buying an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 593,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $195,556,000 after buying an additional 37,702 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 448,184 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $134,527,000 after buying an additional 6,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 444,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $133,271,000 after buying an additional 101,710 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock opened at $322.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 24.36 and a beta of 1.01. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $310.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $311.95. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year 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 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 the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.