West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Position Increased by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 88.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 134,483 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 63,102 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $40,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its position in 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 worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% in 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 in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,135,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the 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 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 this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $323.32 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $308.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $313.34. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a PE ratio of 47.97, a P/E/G ratio of 24.42 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 disclosed 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 0.26%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

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.