Choreo LLC Sells 341 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Choreo LLC reduced its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 35.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 628 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 341 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WST. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,620,000 after buying an additional 2,338 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 3,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 2,427 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 67,187 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $22,008,000 after acquiring an additional 25,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $214.84 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.01 and a 12 month high of $400.88. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $327.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $313.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. Equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

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.