West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Acquired by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 7.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,261 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LGT Group Foundation purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth approximately $68,854,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth $64,196,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 30.6% in the first quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 597,106 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,281,000 after buying an additional 139,800 shares during the last quarter. Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at $47,381,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 500,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $198,117,000 after buying an additional 61,247 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 6.9 %

WST opened at $307.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 2.34. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70. The company has a market cap of $22.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.62, a PEG ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $300.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $321.78.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.34. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 18.25% and a return on equity of 19.17%. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 11.08%.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $308,700.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,400. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.