West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,864 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,426 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.05% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $12,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,980 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,269,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.8 %

WST stock opened at $222.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $263.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.01 and a 12 month high of $396.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. Sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WST. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.