XTX Topco Ltd Sells 3,019 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

XTX Topco Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 73.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,064 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,019 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.1 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $334.26 on Wednesday. The stock 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 twelve month low of $265.00 and a twelve month high of $413.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $314.49 and a 200-day moving average of $311.68.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WST. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

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.