West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,333 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 596 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $4,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,980 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 3.0 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $230.33 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.01 and a twelve month high of $400.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $285.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $303.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.43, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. As a group, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective 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 on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.