953 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Acquired by Weiss Asset Management LP

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 953 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,135,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $322.16 on Tuesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $310.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.75. The company has a market capitalization of $23.33 billion, a PE ratio of 47.80, a P/E/G ratio of 24.47 and a beta of 1.01.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change 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%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.46%.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.