Hilton Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 4,063 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Hilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 4,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WST. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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 value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $311.67 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $306.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $314.97. 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 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $413.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 22.97 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced 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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.