West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stake Lessened by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. cut its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,247 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $82,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 2.3 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $307.22 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $306.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.42. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70. 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 capitalization of $22.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.58, a P/E/G ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.46%.

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.