Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 312 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. reduced its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,568 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 312 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WST. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 68.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 907 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $860,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 86,901 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,388,000 after acquiring an additional 2,105 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 105,998 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $41,944,000 after acquiring an additional 19,626 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $344.12 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.06, a PEG ratio of 24.78 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $304.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $316.60.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. Analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 11.87%.

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.