West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) is Bright Rock Capital Management LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Bright Rock Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 11,000 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services comprises 2.5% of Bright Rock Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $11,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.8% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $234,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 301,339 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $99,258,000 after purchasing an additional 26,947 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WST. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $328.72 on Wednesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $326.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.41. The stock has a market cap of $23.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

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.