Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Has $166,000 Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 36.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 472 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.4% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 147 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $377.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.89, a P/E/G ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.04. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $310.42 and a 1-year high of $415.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $379.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $364.10.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. Equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.21%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 10.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WST. UBS Group cut 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.