William Allan Corp Increases Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

William Allan Corp raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 112.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,705 shares during the quarter. William Allan Corp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $323.32 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $308.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $313.34. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70. The stock has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a PE ratio of 47.97, a P/E/G ratio of 24.42 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.46%.

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.