West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Holdings Lifted by abrdn plc

abrdn plc raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 27.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 182,057 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 39,156 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned about 0.25% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $64,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $597,061,000 after purchasing an additional 578,796 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.8% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,305,062 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $489,672,000 after acquiring an additional 35,788 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 806,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $302,458,000 after acquiring an additional 33,867 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 750,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $281,524,000 after acquiring an additional 60,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $215,011,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE WST traded up $3.42 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $375.46. 510,492 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 510,152. The business's 50 day moving average is $377.94 and its 200-day moving average is $364.02. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $310.42 and a 12-month high of $415.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.15%.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 in the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.