West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV lowered its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 75.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,212 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 19,390 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LGT Group Foundation purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $68,854,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,196,000. Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $47,381,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $132,095,000 after buying an additional 45,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 207,564 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $68,370,000 after acquiring an additional 41,454 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $314.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 25.57 and a beta of 1.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $305.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $316.18. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. 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.