West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Bought by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 7.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,261 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pitcairn Co. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.4% during 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 grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,495 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $308,700.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,478 shares in the company, valued at $443,400. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $307.92 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week high of $413.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $22.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $300.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $321.78.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.17% and a net margin of 18.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.08%.

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.