Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Sells 29 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 29 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $597,061,000 after purchasing an additional 578,796 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $215,011,000. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB now owns 180,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $67,538,000 after purchasing an additional 171,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 702.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 126,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $44,487,000 after purchasing an additional 110,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 279,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $104,726,000 after purchasing an additional 84,513 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at $55,023,943.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $363.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.30 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $377.63 and a 200 day moving average of $363.37. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $310.42 and a 1 year high of $415.73.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.57% and a net margin of 19.42%. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 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, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 10.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp raised their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

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.