Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 188,710 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,547 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $66,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WST. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total transaction of $23,077,900.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $377.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.89, a PEG ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $379.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $364.10. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $310.42 and a twelve month high of $415.73.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The business had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.15%.

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.