Mission Wealth Management LP Sells 64 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mission Wealth Management LP trimmed its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,185 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 65.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,111 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 5,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,865,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 914 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $825,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $228.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $400.88. The company has a market capitalization of $16.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $303.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.87.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. Analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

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.