Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Has $526,000 Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,752 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WST. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $964,850,000 after purchasing an additional 10,060 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $205,114,000 after purchasing an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after buying an additional 396,780 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.8% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 593,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $195,556,000 after acquiring an additional 37,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 448,184 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $134,527,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $322.49 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $413.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $310.17 and its 200-day moving average is $311.95. The stock has a market cap of $23.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.85, a P/E/G ratio of 24.47 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.