Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 3,235 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Intech Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,235 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,135,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST opened at $316.59 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $307.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $313.91. The company has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of 46.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 1.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.