Icon Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 13,752 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 784.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,506 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 13,752 shares during the quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $4,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in 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. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at about $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE WST opened at $320.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.19 billion, a PE ratio of 47.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 22.97 and a beta of 1.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $413.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $306.69 and a 200-day moving average of $315.00. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. 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 company posted $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company 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 was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.