Brookstone Capital Management cut its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST – Get Rating) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,090 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 70.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 123 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Glassman Wealth Services boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.0% in the 2nd quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 146 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services
In related news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 44,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.99, for a total value of $10,515,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 114,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,465,208.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
WST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $385.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Friday, October 28th. UBS Group initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, November 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, December 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $266.25.
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance
Shares of WST stock opened at $235.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.65. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.19 and a 12-month high of $475.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.80, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $686.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $730.64 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 21.68%. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 24th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.17%.
West Pharmaceutical Services 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.
See Also
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