Corient Private Wealth LLC Decreases Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Corient Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,259 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC owned approximately 0.09% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $22,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 235 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $89,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the company’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 $55,023,943.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 132,966 shares of company stock valued at $48,293,292 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE WST opened at $328.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.93 billion, a PE ratio of 43.35, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $310.42 and a fifty-two week high of $415.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $374.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $363.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.57% and a net margin of 19.42%. The company had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.98 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 10.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WST. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.20.

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.