West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Everett Harris & Co. CA

Everett Harris & Co. CA decreased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,757 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 147 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on WST. Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $1.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $395.71. 234,704 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 551,421. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $374.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $363.70. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $310.42 and a 12-month high of $415.73. The company has a market capitalization of $28.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.25, a PEG ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The firm had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.77 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.15%.

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.