Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 656 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,471 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 656 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $231.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.01 and a 52-week high of $400.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.29.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. On average, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

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.