Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Trims Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 24.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,023 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $973,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE:WST opened at $311.67 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $306.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $314.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.24, a PEG ratio of 22.97 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The firm 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%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders 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 was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.