CIBC Asset Management Inc Raises Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,581 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $3,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 56.1% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 3,067 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,185 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC now owns 17,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,103,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,867,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Brooktree Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.1% in the third quarter. Brooktree Capital Management now owns 4,604 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,382,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $307.22 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $306.08 and its 200 day moving average is $315.42. The firm has a market cap of $22.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.58, a PEG ratio of 23.78 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was 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 owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.