Vestcor Inc Cuts Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Vestcor Inc lessened its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,188 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 329 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 10,581 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,176,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 53,747 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $16,133,000 after purchasing an additional 4,740 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 64.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 18,738 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,625,000 after purchasing an additional 7,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.5% during the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WST. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.6 %

WST stock opened at $231.60 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $197.01 and a one year high of $400.88. The firm has a market cap of $16.74 billion, a PE ratio of 34.62, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $283.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $302.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

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.