Courier Capital LLC Sells 85 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Courier Capital LLC trimmed its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 592 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 750,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $281,524,000 after purchasing an additional 60,927 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,830 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,958 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,563,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,287.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,940 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $16,862,000 after buying an additional 41,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 3,746 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. 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. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $394.10 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $374.38 and its 200 day moving average is $363.70. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $310.42 and a 52 week high of $415.73. The stock has a market cap of $28.85 billion, a PE ratio of 50.01, a PEG ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.03. 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 (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WST shares. 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 lowered their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

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.