Barrett & Company Inc. Sells 115 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Barrett & Company Inc. decreased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 39.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Barrett & Company Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 191,469 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $75,766,000 after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 142.3% in the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 29,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,724,000 after purchasing an additional 17,399 shares during the last quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.3% during the first quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 164,738 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $65,188,000 after purchasing an additional 5,217 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 54.7% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,574 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,181,000 after purchasing an additional 3,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.4% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,365 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,893,000 after buying an additional 3,802 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $308,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $3.98 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $311.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 85,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,776. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $300.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $321.30. 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 has a market cap of $22.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.69, a P/E/G ratio of 23.68 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.87%.

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.