Ewa LLC Has $288,000 Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Ewa LLC reduced its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 755 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Ewa LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chase Investment Counsel Corp acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $366,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $2,890,000. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $1,953,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 1,699 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction 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 owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST traded down $6.80 on Monday, hitting $353.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 259,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 512,598. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $377.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $363.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $310.42 and a 12 month high of $415.73. The firm has a market cap of $25.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.04.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.98 EPS. Analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.65 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.55%.

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.