West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. decreased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 190 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position 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 worth $597,061,000 after buying an additional 578,796 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.8% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,305,062 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $489,672,000 after buying an additional 35,788 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 806,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $302,458,000 after buying an additional 33,867 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 750,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $281,524,000 after buying an additional 60,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,011,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $357.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $377.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $363.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.04. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $310.42 and a 12-month high of $415.73. 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 (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.20.

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.