Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 627 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 627 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.05% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $11,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 87.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 2,189 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $752,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 19.9% in the second quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,180 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,294,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.2% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $321.08 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $23.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.77, a P/E/G ratio of 24.48 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $309.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. 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. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.