Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 87.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $237,367,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $597,061,000 after purchasing an additional 578,796 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth $215,011,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 73.2% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 849,266 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $294,246,000 after acquiring an additional 359,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $44,610,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE WST opened at $379.48 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $380.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $363.91. 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 12-month low of $310.42 and a 12-month high of $415.73. The firm has a market cap of $27.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.16, a PEG ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.04.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at $55,023,943.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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