ING Groep NV Has $1.65 Million Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

ING Groep NV trimmed its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,043 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,169 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WST. First Bank & Trust boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 91.2% in the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,935 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $634,000 after buying an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 55,679 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $18,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,940 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth about $231,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth about $4,586,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 94,982 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,112,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock opened at $210.72 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $316.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $310.73. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $400.88. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $15.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during 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%. Analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wolfe Research started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $344.00.

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.