Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 4,029 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 66.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,038 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,029 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $178,828,000 after buying an additional 396,780 shares in the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $68,854,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $64,196,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,114,000 after purchasing an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 444,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $133,271,000 after purchasing an additional 101,710 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WST. Bank of America lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company 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 four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services 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 transaction of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE WST opened at $334.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.59, a PEG ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $314.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

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.