Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Increases Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 261 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WST. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.0% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 235 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $368.18 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $377.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $364.29. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $310.42 and a 1 year high of $415.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.88. The company has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.72, a PEG ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 1.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. Analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp raised their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

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.