West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Bought by Lattice Capital Management LLC

Lattice Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services comprises 0.0% of Lattice Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Lattice Capital Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter worth about $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.4% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 147 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772 in the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST traded up $0.67 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $379.48. 491,817 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 515,837. 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 quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $380.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $363.91. The company has a market capitalization of $27.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.16, a PEG ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 10.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WST. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.