Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd cut its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 47.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 355 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 325 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $597,061,000 after buying an additional 578,796 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $215,011,000. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,900.0% in the third quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB now owns 180,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $67,538,000 after purchasing an additional 171,000 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 702.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 126,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $44,487,000 after purchasing an additional 110,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 279,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $104,726,000 after purchasing an additional 84,513 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on WST. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp raised their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $368.18 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $377.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $364.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.24. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $310.42 and a 1 year high of $415.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.72, a P/E/G ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 1.04.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.15%.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.