Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC Has $213,000 Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC reduced its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 650 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $41,000. Hilltop National Bank boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at $82,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $336.15 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $327.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $312.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.