Mather Group LLC. Has $416,000 Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mather Group LLC. decreased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,181 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WST. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at $2,890,000. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $1,953,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 1,699 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,958 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $689,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total transaction of $23,077,900.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on 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. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $363.43 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market cap of $26.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.95, a PEG ratio of 6.30 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average is $377.63 and its 200 day moving average is $363.37. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $310.42 and a twelve month high of $415.73.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.57% and a net margin of 19.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. Research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 10.55%.

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.