West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Forte Capital LLC ADV

Forte Capital LLC ADV lessened its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 48.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 914 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WST. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST opened at $210.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.01 and a 52-week high of $400.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $316.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $310.57. The company has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 1.01.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

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.