Courier Capital LLC Sells 85 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Courier Capital LLC decreased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 592 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WST. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $237,367,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $597,061,000 after purchasing an additional 578,796 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth about $215,011,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 73.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 849,266 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $294,246,000 after purchasing an additional 359,021 shares during the period. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $44,610,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WST shares. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $394.10 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $28.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $374.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $363.70. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $310.42 and a 1 year high of $415.73.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.