West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Marshall Financial Group LLC

Marshall Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 960 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 52 shares during the quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.4%

WST opened at $221.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $352.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $212.08 and a 200-day moving average of $260.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.19%.

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.