West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,023 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $973,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.3% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,698 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,495 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 792 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 55,454 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,948,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 88.0% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 6,885 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 3,223 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $311.67 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24, a PEG ratio of 22.97 and a beta of 1.00. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $306.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $314.97.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results 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. 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 company’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 0.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.46%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.