CNB Bank Has $342,000 Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

CNB Bank lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 56.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 972 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. CNB Bank’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WST. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13,230.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,571,000 after acquiring an additional 18,522 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 750,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $281,524,000 after purchasing an additional 60,927 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,830 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,958 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,563,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One North America Inc. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 11,720 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,368 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 down $5.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $372.04. 444,740 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 314,853. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $378.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $364.11. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $310.42 and a 1-year high of $415.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. West Pharmaceutical Services’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 business earned $1.77 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 in the last ninety days. 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.