Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 35,796 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 253,252 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 35,796 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.35% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $56,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the 4th 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. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% during the 4th 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. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $224.15 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $210.35 and a 200 day moving average of $263.78. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 13.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WST shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced 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 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.50.

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.

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