Davis R M Inc. Sells 349 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Davis R M Inc. trimmed its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 349 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $231.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $16.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $400.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $291.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $304.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. Research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.00.

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.