MJP Associates Inc. ADV Acquires 133 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 879 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $237,367,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position 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 worth $597,061,000 after buying an additional 578,796 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth approximately $215,011,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 73.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 849,266 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $294,246,000 after purchasing an additional 359,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $44,610,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of WST traded up $1.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $395.71. The company had a trading volume of 234,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,504. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $374.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $363.70. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $310.42 and a 52 week high of $415.73. The company has a market capitalization of $28.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.03.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $0.20 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 10.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

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.