Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Has $67,000 Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 90.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $67,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 147 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,023,943.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $372.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.24 billion, a PE ratio of 47.22, a PEG ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $378.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $364.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $310.42 and a 1 year high of $415.73.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 10.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.