Retirement Systems of Alabama Cuts Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 395 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $597,061,000 after acquiring an additional 578,796 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 806,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $302,458,000 after acquiring an additional 33,867 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 750,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $281,524,000 after acquiring an additional 60,927 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth about $215,011,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.5% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 476,407 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,753,000 after acquiring an additional 37,153 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,700,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $365.02 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $377.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $363.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.61. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $310.42 and a one year high of $415.73. The firm has a market cap of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.16, a P/E/G ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The firm had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.