West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lowered its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 29 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 35,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,470,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $154,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,072 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 137,112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $48,280,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 the SEC website. In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 the SEC website. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the transaction, 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 sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $363.43 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $377.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $363.37. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $310.42 and a one year high of $415.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.95, a PEG ratio of 6.30 and a beta of 1.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The business had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.55%.

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.