West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Moore Capital Management LP

Moore Capital Management LP cut its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 63,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Moore Capital Management LP’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $20,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $213.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $367.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $216.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The firm had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 13.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

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.