Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $134.53 Million Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 448,184 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $134,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WST. LGT Group Foundation bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at about $68,854,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,196,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 401,026 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $132,095,000 after buying an additional 45,208 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 207,564 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $68,370,000 after buying an additional 41,454 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 593,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $195,556,000 after buying an additional 37,702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $316.59 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 23.91 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $307.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $313.91. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week 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.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. 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 0.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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.