SpiderRock Advisors LLC Grows Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

SpiderRock Advisors LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 26.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,589 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in 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 during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $324.10 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. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $303.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $317.40. The company has a market cap of $23.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.09, a PEG ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released 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 net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The company had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid 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 yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 11.87%.

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.