West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lessened its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 71.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,952 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,130,020,000 after acquiring an additional 203,198 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,110,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,019,007,000 after purchasing an additional 44,376 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,778,940 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $581,209,000 after purchasing an additional 38,757 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,090,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $357,238,000 after purchasing an additional 494,828 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at $290,604,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 4.4 %

NYSE:WST opened at $214.85 on Wednesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $394.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is $217.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.32.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. On average, analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.