Mission Wealth Management LP Trims Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mission Wealth Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,185 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp cut their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE WST opened at $228.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.01 and a 1-year high of $400.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $303.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $307.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.49 billion, a PE ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. On average, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.56%.

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.