West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) is Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s 9th Largest Position

Dudley & Shanley Inc. decreased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 78,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,470 shares during the quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services comprises 4.0% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $25,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 217,809 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $71,744,000 after purchasing an additional 4,822 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter worth $216,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 34,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,118,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter worth $6,917,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.4% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,387 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock traded up $6.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $334.78. 135,893 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 281,554. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $323.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. The stock has a market cap of $24.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.67, a PEG ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week 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 EPS 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 business had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WST. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $437.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.