West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,356 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $6,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $225,851,000 after acquiring an additional 676,167 shares during the period. Seilern Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $145,379,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after acquiring an additional 396,780 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $205,114,000 after acquiring an additional 122,361 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. Bank of America increased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:WST opened at $232.37 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.01 and a 1-year high of $400.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.81.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced 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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.