Pitcairn Co. Has $1.57 Million Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Pitcairn Co. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 475.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 4,328 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, 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 last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:WST opened at $316.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. The firm has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 1.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $307.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $314.28.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. The company’s 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.