West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Acquired by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 80.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,042 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 75,836 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,980,000 after purchasing an additional 6,256 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 66.0% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,670 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,462 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,446,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter worth about $221,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST opened at $325.32 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $315.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.77. The company has a market capitalization of $23.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.27, a PEG ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The business 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 revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WST shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.75.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services 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 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. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.