Grace & White Inc. NY Sells 400 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Grace & White Inc. NY trimmed its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,810 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services makes up about 2.7% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $15,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $597,061,000 after acquiring an additional 578,796 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.8% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,305,062 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $489,672,000 after acquiring an additional 35,788 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 806,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $302,458,000 after acquiring an additional 33,867 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% during the third 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 period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $215,011,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of WST traded up $14.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $389.98. 427,080 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 509,088. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $377.94 and its 200-day moving average is $364.02. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $310.42 and a 1 year high of $415.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.04.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.21%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,023,943.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.