Ewa LLC Decreases Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Ewa LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 755 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 72 shares during the quarter. Ewa LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in 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 valued at $597,061,000 after acquiring an additional 578,796 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth about $215,011,000. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,900.0% during the third quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB now owns 180,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $67,538,000 after buying an additional 171,000 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 702.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 126,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $44,487,000 after buying an additional 110,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.4% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 279,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $104,726,000 after buying an additional 84,513 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were 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 $55,023,943.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have 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

Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $6.80 during trading on Monday, reaching $353.63. The company had a trading volume of 259,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 512,598. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $377.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $363.77. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $310.42 and a fifty-two week high of $415.73.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.57% and a net margin of 19.42%. The firm had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp boosted 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.