West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC decreased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 158,917 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 12,727 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.22% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $35,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 2,090 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE:WST opened at $218.46 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $210.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $264.33. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33. The company has a market capitalization of $15.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.66, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The company had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 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 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

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.