Net Worth Advisory Group Sells 227 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Net Worth Advisory Group reduced its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,848 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 227 shares during the quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position 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 worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WST. Bank of America upped 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 upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $226.04 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.01 and a 52 week high of $400.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $305.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. Analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.