West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC cut its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 34,044 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $55,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at $2,387,990,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $733,733,000. Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $728,168,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $214,196,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $176,138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp raised their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $340.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $391.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Annette Favorite sold 2,524 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $921,260.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 21,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,963,570. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,659 shares of company stock valued at $5,443,749. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $393.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.82. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $223.83 and a 52-week high of $396.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $360.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $335.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.13.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 16.98%. The company had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.93 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 11.27%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc develops and manufactures components and delivery systems used in the administration and packaging of injectable medicines and other healthcare products. Its offerings include elastomer closures, seals, syringe components, drug-delivery systems, and other specialized packaging components designed to support the safety, quality, and performance of pharmaceutical products.

The company also provides contract-manufacturing services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device customers.