Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Has $612,000 Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC decreased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 66.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,038 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,029 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST opened at $334.26 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $314.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.68. The company has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a PE ratio of 49.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. Research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WST. Bank of America boosted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. 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, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $437.75.

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.