Citigroup Inc. Has $17.12 Million Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Citigroup Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 32.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 57,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 26,793 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $17,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WST. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 54.7% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,574 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,181,000 after buying an additional 3,738 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,756 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $27,541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,037 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth $1,937,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 525.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,990 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,515,000 after purchasing an additional 15,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,074 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.2 %

WST stock opened at $323.32 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $307.93 and a 200-day moving average of $313.27. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.97, a P/E/G ratio of 24.15 and a beta of 1.00. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The company 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

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.