Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $137,000 Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 389 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 42 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strs Ohio increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 91,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,218,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,585,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,965 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $692,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,559,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,700,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $377.36 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $379.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $364.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $310.42 and a fifty-two week high of $415.73. The firm has a market cap of $27.63 billion, a PE ratio of 47.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The company had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.21%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.15%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.