Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Has $880,000 Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.0% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 235 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST opened at $368.18 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $310.42 and a fifty-two week high of $415.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $377.67 and a 200 day moving average of $364.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.88. The firm has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.72, a PEG ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 1.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 10.15%.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.20.

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.