Huntington National Bank Raises Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,795 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WST. Pitcairn Co. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.4% in the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 875 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,495 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $314.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. The firm has a market cap of $22.77 billion, a PE ratio of 46.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 25.57 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $305.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $316.47. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million during 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%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related 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 at this hyperlink. Company 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.