APG Asset Management US Inc. Sells 4,326 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

APG Asset Management US Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 74.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,326 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $203.43 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $394.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $236.88 and a 200-day moving average of $291.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a market capitalization of $14.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22.

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. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.