West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 51.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,377 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,932 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price 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 upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. KeyCorp raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $435.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772 over the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $375.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $377.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $364.02. The company has a market cap of $27.49 billion, a PE ratio of 47.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.24 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.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.