Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 55,358 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 41.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,416 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 55,358 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $27,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 147 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 in the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on 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. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $380.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.88. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $381.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $363.96. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $310.42 and a fifty-two week high of $415.73. The company has a market cap of $27.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.22, a PEG ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The firm had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.21%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s 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.