Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Has $212,000 Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 705 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth $30,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 7.0 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $314.49 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $413.70. 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 stock has a market cap of $22.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.66, a PEG ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $305.97 and a 200-day moving average of $316.18.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.46%.

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.