West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,471 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 17,574 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $38,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Norges Bank bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $290,604,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $225,851,000 after buying an additional 676,167 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 731.8% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 640,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $209,879,000 after buying an additional 563,705 shares during the last quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $145,379,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after acquiring an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.8 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $222.08 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $396.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.79.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.