West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN cut its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,393 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 35,467 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.13% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $30,592,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prudential PLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 66.9% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 16,863 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,524,000 after purchasing an additional 6,761 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 7,502 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,457,000 after buying an additional 2,263 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $18,908,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $251,000. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,258,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp dropped their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE:WST opened at $210.75 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $394.42. The firm has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. 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 fifty day moving average price of $231.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.85.

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. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 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.