Squarepoint Ops LLC Has $638,000 Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 97.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,947 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 68,326 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WST. Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,151,000 after purchasing an additional 16,418 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,043,000 after buying an additional 2,427 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $706,000. Finally, Consolidated Planning Corp lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 188.3% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 3,140 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE WST opened at $210.82 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $15.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $352.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $210.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.31.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 13.19%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.