Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 44.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,741 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 539 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth $201,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at $709,708.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $385.73 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $310.42 and a 12 month high of $415.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $28.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.95, a P/E/G ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $377.32 and a 200 day moving average of $364.26.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 10.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WST. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.20.

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.