Commerce Bank Has $3.83 Million Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Commerce Bank increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,863 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $3,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 235 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $89,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE WST opened at $331.66 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $24.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $310.42 and a 52 week high of $415.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $373.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $364.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.57% and a net margin of 19.42%. The firm had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business 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 0.24%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 132,966 shares of company stock worth $48,293,292. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective 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 decreased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.