West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Position Increased by Raymond James Trust N.A.

Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 448,184 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $134,527,000 after buying an additional 6,756 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $104,000. Hilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $1,220,000. Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.1% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 10,902 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,272,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.6% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 17,975 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,395,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $316.59 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.97, a P/E/G ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $307.01 and its 200-day moving average is $313.91. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week high of $413.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $746.90 million for 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 last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.