West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Acquired by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pitcairn Co. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 475.1% during the third quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 5,239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 94.1% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,589,000 after acquiring an additional 2,566 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 444,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $133,271,000 after acquiring an additional 101,710 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 784.0% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,506 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,654,000 after acquiring an additional 13,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $323.32 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $307.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $313.27. The firm has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 24.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

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