Yousif Capital Management LLC Purchases 858 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $12,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% in the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Covenant Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.0% in the third quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 918 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% in the third quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WST traded down $4.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $385.73. 756,126 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 508,312. The firm has a market cap of $28.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.49, a PEG ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.04. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $310.42 and a twelve month high of $415.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $377.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $364.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.77 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

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.