Diversify Wealth Management LLC Trims Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 33 shares during the quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring 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 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WST. Wolfe Research started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST opened at $347.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $327.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $313.16. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $413.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.17 billion, a PE ratio of 51.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $746.90 million for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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