Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST – Free Report) by 63.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,037 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,864 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 54.4% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 849 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 103,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $42,381,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,716,312 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,579,876,000 after purchasing an additional 82,459 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 152.8% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.36% of the company’s stock.
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE WST opened at $375.79 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.62, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.19 and a 12 month high of $389.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $362.24 and a 200-day moving average of $332.67. The company has a market capitalization of $27.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.62 and a beta of 1.11.
West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 25th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.20%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 10.44%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Thomas W. Hofmann sold 1,212 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.57, for a total transaction of $443,070.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,944,701.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 44,000 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.10, for a total value of $15,976,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 134,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,863,819.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas W. Hofmann sold 1,212 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.57, for a total value of $443,070.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,944,701.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,244 shares of company stock valued at $24,454,553. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WST shares. Bank of America raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $390.00 to $405.00 in a research report on Friday, June 16th. Stephens increased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $420.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.00.
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.
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