West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST) To Go Ex-Dividend on July 29th

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.22 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 29th.

West Pharmaceutical Services has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years. West Pharmaceutical Services has a payout ratio of 12.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect West Pharmaceutical Services to earn $9.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 9.2%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $358.87 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $335.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $286.58. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12-month low of $221.50 and a 12-month high of $367.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.16.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $844.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.67 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 16.85%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total transaction of $269,400.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total transaction of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. The trade was a 14.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $272,041,000. Generation Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 1,561,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $429,733,000 after buying an additional 585,855 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,174,962 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $323,280,000 after purchasing an additional 473,547 shares in the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $123,667,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 420.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 545,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $142,949,000 after purchasing an additional 440,929 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a global developer and manufacturer of components, systems and services that enable the containment and delivery of injectable drugs. The company focuses on high-quality packaging and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, producing primary drug packaging components and specialized drug delivery devices used for vaccines, biologics and other injectable therapies. West is known for its elastomeric closures, seals and polymer components that maintain sterility and compatibility with sensitive drug formulations.

In addition to component manufacturing, West provides engineered delivery systems and support services across the product lifecycle.