West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Paradiem LLC

Paradiem LLC reduced its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,680 shares during the period. Paradiem LLC's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $3,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,909 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,844,000 after buying an additional 4,121 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 50,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $19,006,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 918 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,237 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $7.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $360.43. The company had a trading volume of 603,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,628. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.24. The company has a market cap of $26.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.55, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.04. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $310.42 and a 12-month high of $415.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $377.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $363.77.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.29% and a net margin of 19.42%. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.55%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.