Insider Selling: West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) CEO Sells 66,000 Shares of Stock

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.65, for a total transaction of $24,198,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,063,718.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Eric Mark Green also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 27th, Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE:WST traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $365.59. 765,358 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 516,295. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $310.42 and a 1 year high of $415.73. The company has a market cap of $26.63 billion, a PE ratio of 48.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $378.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $363.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The company had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.62 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WST shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp boosted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WST. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 155.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 97 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.