Hilton Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Hilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Pitcairn Co. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 875 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,495 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.5 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $311.67 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $306.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $314.97. The stock has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.24, a PEG ratio of 22.97 and a beta of 1.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend 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.