West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC

Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 48.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,391 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,307 shares during the quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WST. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.0% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake 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 valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased 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 purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 248.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WST. Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $320.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST traded up $0.53 on Friday, reaching $221.75. 370,766 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 735,377. The business's 50-day moving average is $215.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $250.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $352.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.23% and a net margin of 16.13%. The business had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.