Raymond James & Associates Buys 5,564 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,961 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 5,564 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.09% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $24,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 147 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $435.20.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.4 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $1.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $395.71. The company had a trading volume of 236,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 495,635. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $310.42 and a 1-year high of $415.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $376.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $363.48. The stock has a market cap of $28.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 1.03.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The business had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 10.15%.

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.