Virtu Financial LLC Grows Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Virtu Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 52.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,770,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13,230.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,571,000 after buying an additional 18,522 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 39.8% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 138,468 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $48,750,000 after purchasing an additional 39,392 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 82,290 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $28,976,000 after purchasing an additional 11,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 750,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $281,524,000 after purchasing an additional 60,927 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.78, for a total value of $595,404.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,030.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.65, for a total value of $24,198,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,063,718.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.78, for a total value of $595,404.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,030.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of WST stock traded down $3.04 on Friday, reaching $333.25. 374,564 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 504,204. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $353.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $361.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.27 billion, a PE ratio of 43.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $310.42 and a 52 week high of $415.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.57% and a net margin of 19.42%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 10.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered 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 lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

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.