Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,985 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 69 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America upped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $210.72 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.01 and a 1-year high of $400.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $316.29 and a 200 day moving average of $310.73. 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 (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. 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.