W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Acquires 1,213 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 226.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,748 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,213 shares during the period. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% in the third 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 bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,011,000. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,900.0% during 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. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 702.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.4% in the third 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. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on WST shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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 downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $3.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $365.02. The stock had a trading volume of 451,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 447,014. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.16, a P/E/G ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $310.42 and a 52 week high of $415.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $377.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $363.10.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $670.62 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued 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 payout ratio is 10.55%.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.