Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 52,190 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 52,190 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.15% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $40,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.0% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,812,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Lattice Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Lattice Capital Management LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 160.3% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,280 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 91,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,218,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’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 owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total transaction of $23,077,900.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.4 %

WST opened at $372.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.22, a PEG ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $378.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $364.11. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $310.42 and a one year high of $415.73.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released 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 company had revenue of $732.00 million during 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 was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. Analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.20.

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.