W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Sells 440 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. trimmed its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 440 shares during the quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter worth $272,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.1% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 28,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,238,000 after acquiring an additional 5,690 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 37,372 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,836,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,740 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,459,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $308,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,400. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $314.77 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $413.70. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $301.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $318.93. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.70, a PEG ratio of 23.85 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.69 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 11.87%.

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.