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

AMI Asset Management Corp lowered its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 182,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,486 shares during the quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services comprises approximately 3.2% of AMI Asset Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $59,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.3 %

WST stock opened at $336.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $327.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $312.76. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a PE ratio of 49.87, a P/E/G ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 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.