Toronto Dominion Bank Increases Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 36,245 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $10,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $330.24 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $312.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $311.84. The company has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.00, a PEG ratio of 25.16 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. 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 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on WST shares. Bank of America upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.75.

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.