Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 201 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WST. Pitcairn Co. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.4% in the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 875 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,495 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC grew 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 worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 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 703 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $307.22 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $306.08 and its 200 day moving average is $315.42. The company has a market cap of $22.25 billion, a PE ratio of 45.58, a P/E/G ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 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.