West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stock Position Decreased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,326 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 722 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $3,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 593,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $195,556,000 after acquiring an additional 37,702 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 500,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $198,117,000 after buying an additional 61,247 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 401,026 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $132,095,000 after buying an additional 45,208 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 301,339 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $99,258,000 after acquiring an additional 26,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 288,639 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $95,075,000 after acquiring an additional 30,253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:WST opened at $324.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.09, a P/E/G ratio of 24.91 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $303.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $317.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70.

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, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.87%.

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.