Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Acquires 1,497 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,420 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.8% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 593,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $195,556,000 after purchasing an additional 37,702 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 401,026 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $132,095,000 after purchasing an additional 45,208 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 301,339 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $99,258,000 after purchasing an additional 26,947 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 288,639 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $95,075,000 after purchasing an additional 30,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 269,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $88,828,000 after purchasing an additional 9,156 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $314.49 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $305.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $316.18. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70. The firm has a market cap of $22.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.66, a P/E/G ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The company had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $308,700.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,478 shares in the company, valued at $443,400. This represents a 41.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 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.