Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 55,358 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 41.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 79,416 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 55,358 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.11% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $27,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13,230.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,571,000 after purchasing an additional 18,522 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,763 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $12,241,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 23,502 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,264,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAM Holding AG bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $665,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the 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 completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the 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 completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,559,380.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,700,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on WST shares. 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 West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. KeyCorp upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $380.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.22, a PEG ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.04. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $310.42 and a 52-week high of $415.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $381.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $363.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.15%.

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.