Wellington Management Group LLP Has $1.97 Million Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,557 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WST. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth $41,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. 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 MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $325.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $23.56 billion, a PE ratio of 48.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $315.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

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.