Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 684 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,583 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 684 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $10,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WST. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13,230.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,571,000 after purchasing an additional 18,522 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 750,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $281,524,000 after purchasing an additional 60,927 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,830 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 11,720 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,127,000 after buying an additional 2,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,958 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,563,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $366.54 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $310.42 and a 12 month high of $415.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $377.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $362.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered 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. KeyCorp raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,559,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 over the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.