West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $199.40 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $330.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $314.33. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.01 and a 1-year high of $408.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $381.67.

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.