Mizuho Securities USA LLC Increases Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 277.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,173 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 15,559 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $6,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WST. LGT Group Foundation purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth $68,854,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,196,000. Iron Triangle Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,381,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 401,026 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $132,095,000 after buying an additional 45,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 207,564 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $68,370,000 after buying an additional 41,454 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 7.0 %

WST stock opened at $314.49 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The company has a market capitalization of $22.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $305.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $316.18. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,029 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $308,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,400. The trade was a 41.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently 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.