Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $2.19 Million Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,807 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WST. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 155.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 97 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at $40,000. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.78, for a total value of $595,404.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,030.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.78, for a total value of $595,404.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,030.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.65, for a total transaction of $24,198,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,063,718.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE WST traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $321.35. 11,272 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 531,679. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $310.00 and a one year high of $415.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $359.56. The stock has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.34, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The business had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.55%.

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.