Spire Wealth Management Sells 71 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Spire Wealth Management cut its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 29.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 171 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $65,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,716,312 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,579,876,000 after acquiring an additional 82,459 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,842,701 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $984,912,000 after purchasing an additional 541,540 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,719,972 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $404,796,000 after purchasing an additional 12,228 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,542,451 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $533,210,000 after purchasing an additional 35,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,269,274 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $485,459,000 after purchasing an additional 18,613 shares during the last quarter. 91.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $349.03 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $363.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $369.91. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $220.80 and a 12-month high of $415.73. The firm has a market cap of $25.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.10, a PEG ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 3.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.30. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.11% and a return on equity of 21.86%. The company had revenue of $747.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $750.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 8th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 7th. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WST shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 27th. Stephens dropped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $420.00 to $390.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 27th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.37, for a total transaction of $383,620.30. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $591,548.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.37, for a total transaction of $383,620.30. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $591,548.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.64, for a total transaction of $829,280.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,168,599.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

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.