West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 51.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,298 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 2.2 %

WST opened at $335.56 on Monday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $413.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a PE ratio of 49.79, a P/E/G ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $323.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $312.12.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WST shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $437.75.

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.