Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 14,814 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 43.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,212 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 14,814 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $4,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.0% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 248.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 229.7% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 455 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WST. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $239.15 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.43 and a 12 month high of $352.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.21. The company has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.80, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.57%.

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.