West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,876 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 271 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.7 %

WST stock opened at $229.03 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $397.72. 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 $16.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.23, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $274.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.47.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.50.

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.