West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) CEO Eric Mark Green Sells 66,000 Shares of Stock

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.65, for a total transaction of $24,198,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,063,718.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Eric Mark Green also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 27th, Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $365.72 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $378.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $363.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.64 billion, a PE ratio of 48.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $310.42 and a 52-week high of $415.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The firm had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WST shares. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $300,250,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $597,061,000 after acquiring an additional 578,796 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,011,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at $88,227,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 659,560 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $232,244,000 after purchasing an additional 183,153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.