Venturi Wealth Management LLC Has $940,000 Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,871 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 221 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WST. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE WST opened at $210.98 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $323.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.73. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $400.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.62%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.35 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

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.