Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 41.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,993 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,138 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $343.89 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70. The company has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a PE ratio of 51.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $327.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.