Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 1,509 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,987,462 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,509 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.41% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $2,943,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,151,000 after purchasing an additional 16,418 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 2,427 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,124,000 after purchasing an additional 23,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $225.79 on Wednesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $397.72. The company has a market cap of $16.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $270.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.46.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WST. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

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.