Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Decreases Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 201 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $82,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $307.22 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $306.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $315.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.58, a PEG ratio of 23.78 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.