Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Sells 428 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,607 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 428 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.4% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 147 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 2.0 %

WST opened at $380.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.22, a P/E/G ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $310.42 and a twelve month high of $415.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $381.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $363.96.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.77 EPS. Analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.