Venturi Wealth Management LLC Acquires 368 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,092 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 142.3% during the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 29,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,724,000 after acquiring an additional 17,399 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 54.7% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,574 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,181,000 after acquiring an additional 3,738 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 70.1% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 4,976 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at $1,937,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 525.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,990 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,515,000 after acquiring an additional 15,952 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $327.65 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week high of $413.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $303.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $316.64. The company has a market capitalization of $23.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.61, a PEG ratio of 24.51 and a beta of 1.00. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

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.