Paragon Advisors LLC Sells 192 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Paragon Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,612 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 192 shares during the quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,756 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $27,541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,037 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.4% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,124,000 after purchasing an additional 23,850 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,160,000 after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,153,000 after acquiring an additional 3,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 53,747 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $16,133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,740 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 opened at $332.34 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $325.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $312.34. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.70. The company has a market capitalization of $24.07 billion, a PE ratio of 49.31, a PEG ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The company had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $430.20.

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.