West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by AMI Asset Management Corp

AMI Asset Management Corp reduced its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 182,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,486 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services comprises 3.2% of AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. AMI Asset Management Corp owned about 0.25% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $59,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,877 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,309 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 901 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,080 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,336,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seilern Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $145,379,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $336.15 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $327.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

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.