Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group Reduces Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group reduced its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,607 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 479 shares during the quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the 4th 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, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE:WST opened at $224.23 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $400.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.52, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $289.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $304.27.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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 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 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America boosted their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.00.

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.