IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 87 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lowered its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,523 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 87 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $4,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,837 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the first quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 38,070 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,065,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 191,469 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $75,766,000 after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.1% during the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 13,320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,271,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $308,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 6.9 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $307.92 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $413.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $300.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $321.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.62, a PEG ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 1.01.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given 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 currently 11.08%.

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.