West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stock Position Lowered by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,780,884 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 503,003 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $583,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after purchasing an additional 203,198 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $964,850,000 after purchasing an additional 10,060 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,110,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,019,007,000 after buying an additional 44,376 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $520,569,000 after buying an additional 12,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $290,604,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $223.95 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $261.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.01 and a 12 month high of $396.75. The company has a market cap of $16.19 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. Equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WST. KeyCorp reduced 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. Citigroup initiated 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. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.50.

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.