GW&K Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

GW&K Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 26.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,947 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 12,421 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $11,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% during the third 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 during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,414,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $498,049,000 after purchasing an additional 109,369 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $300,250,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 806,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $302,458,000 after purchasing an additional 33,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 750,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $281,524,000 after purchasing an additional 60,927 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,700,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 139,978 shares of company stock worth $50,852,672. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST opened at $334.29 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $310.42 and a fifty-two week high of $415.73. The company has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $376.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $364.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.61.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.76 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, August 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.24%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. KeyCorp boosted 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 note on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group decreased 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.20.

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.