Synovus Financial Corp Sells 65 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Synovus Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,407 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,183,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.8% during the third quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.2% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $325.32 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week high of $413.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $315.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $311.77.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. 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. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.