Wealth Alliance Has $324,000 Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Wealth Alliance lowered its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 920 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 30 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $377.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.04. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $310.42 and a one year high of $415.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $379.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $364.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS 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%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. Analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,559,380.00. Following the transaction, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.