Paragon Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST – Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,612 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 192 shares during the period. Paragon Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $964,850,000 after acquiring an additional 10,060 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $520,569,000 after purchasing an additional 12,850 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,114,000 after purchasing an additional 122,361 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after acquiring an additional 396,780 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.8% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 593,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $195,556,000 after purchasing an additional 37,702 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.20.
West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.4 %
Shares of WST stock opened at $332.34 on Monday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $325.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.34. The company has a market cap of $24.07 billion, a PE ratio of 49.31, a P/E/G ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.00.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.46%.
Insider Activity
In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.
West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.
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