Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WSTFree Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,494 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $964,850,000 after buying an additional 10,060 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $520,569,000 after purchasing an additional 12,850 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $205,114,000 after purchasing an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after buying an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 448,184 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $134,527,000 after buying an additional 6,756 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $430.20.

Get Our Latest Analysis on WST

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $336.15 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $327.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $312.76. The company has a market cap 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.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WSTGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change 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

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST)

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