West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stock Position Lifted by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 29,404 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $8,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after acquiring an additional 396,780 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 37,702 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 6,756 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 444,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $133,271,000 after acquiring an additional 101,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew 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 acquiring an additional 45,208 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock opened at $323.32 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.97, a P/E/G ratio of 24.12 and a beta of 1.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $307.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $313.27.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio 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.