Paragon Advisors LLC Purchases 136 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Paragon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,804 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Paragon Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 53,747 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $16,133,000 after purchasing an additional 4,740 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 277.1% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 21,173 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,355,000 after buying an additional 15,559 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 17,420 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,229,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST opened at $314.49 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $305.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $316.47. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $413.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.66, a P/E/G ratio of 25.57 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its 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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was 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 owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.