West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Bought by MJP Associates Inc. ADV

MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 879 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,864 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 54.4% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 849 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 103,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $42,381,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,716,312 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,579,876,000 after purchasing an additional 82,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 152.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $1.61 during trading on Thursday, hitting $395.71. 234,638 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 549,504. The stock has a market cap of $28.97 billion, a PE ratio of 50.25, a P/E/G ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $374.38 and its 200 day moving average is $363.70. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $310.42 and a 12 month high of $415.73. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.20%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 approximately $1,700,900. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. Company insiders own 0.53% 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.