Darwin Wealth Management LLC Buys New Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 348 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $104,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $82,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $311.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $413.70. The company has a market capitalization of $22.57 billion, a PE ratio of 46.24, a PEG ratio of 22.97 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $306.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $314.97.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. 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 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 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.