Brooktree Capital Management Lowers Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Brooktree Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,476 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 265 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services makes up approximately 1.3% of Brooktree Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Brooktree Capital Management’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,440 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 50.5% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 9,806 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,679,000 after buying an additional 3,292 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 17,399 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,528,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 64,397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,162,000 after buying an additional 2,150 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 4,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 value of $2,559,380.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,700,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:WST traded up $3.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $361.00. 138,766 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 513,517. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $377.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $363.37. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $310.42 and a fifty-two week high of $415.73. 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 $26.30 billion, a PE ratio of 47.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.55%.

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.