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

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,864 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,426 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $12,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 94.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,589,000 after buying an additional 2,566 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at $475,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 78,562 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $23,587,000 after purchasing an additional 9,516 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after purchasing an additional 396,780 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $791,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WST. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI began coverage on 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. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $222.08 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $16.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.01 and a 52-week high of $396.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $263.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

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.