Creative Planning increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST – Free Report) by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,240 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY now owns 4,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 384 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 5,854 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC now owns 970 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 430 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 91.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have issued reports on WST. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $415.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $420.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $390.00 to $405.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.00.
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $385.06 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.19 and a 52 week high of $415.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.13, a PEG ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $390.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $371.59. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.16. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 18.10% and a return on equity of 22.36%. The firm had revenue of $753.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $755.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,000 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.64, for a total transaction of $829,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,168,599.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, insider Cindy Reiss-Clark sold 3,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $393.34, for a total value of $1,367,643.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,699,228.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.64, for a total transaction of $829,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,168,599.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,752 shares of company stock valued at $22,713,817. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.
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.
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