Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Trims Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lowered its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,893 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE owned approximately 0.05% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $12,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 448,184 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $134,527,000 after buying an additional 6,756 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 94.1% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,589,000 after acquiring an additional 2,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.8 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $3.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $222.08. 496,755 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 664,265. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $396.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $263.98 and a 200 day moving average of $297.88. The firm has a market cap of $16.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. Research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WST. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp cut their price objective on 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. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.50.

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.