Swiss National Bank Sells 200 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 216,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.30% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $64,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 64.3% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 18,738 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,625,000 after purchasing an additional 7,334 shares during the period. Paragon Advisors LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC now owns 6,804 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,042,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 53,747 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $16,133,000 after buying an additional 4,740 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 277.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 21,173 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,355,000 after buying an additional 15,559 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 17,420 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,229,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.0 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $304.08 on Wednesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $306.05 and a 200 day moving average of $314.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $22.02 billion, a PE ratio of 45.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 1.00.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.46%.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.