Paradiem LLC Has $3.49 Million Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Paradiem LLC cut its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,680 shares during the quarter. Paradiem LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $3,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% during the 3rd 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 period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 235 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 2.1 %

WST stock traded down $7.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $360.43. 603,058 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 378,628. The stock has a market cap of $26.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.55, a P/E/G ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $310.42 and a fifty-two week high of $415.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $377.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $363.97.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.29% and a net margin of 19.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. 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.