West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,904,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 301,672 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 4.04% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $761,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,316,804 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,038,517,000 after buying an additional 85,083 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,271,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $715,884,000 after acquiring an additional 68,330 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.3% during the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,267,319 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $496,089,000 after acquiring an additional 71,836 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at $255,072,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 959,525 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $209,944,000 after purchasing an additional 10,070 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of WST stock opened at $236.08 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $347.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $269.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $261.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.87.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WST shares. TD Cowen began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $345.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.78.

West Pharmaceutical Services Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a global developer and manufacturer of components, systems and services that enable the containment and delivery of injectable drugs. The company focuses on high-quality packaging and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, producing primary drug packaging components and specialized drug delivery devices used for vaccines, biologics and other injectable therapies. West is known for its elastomeric closures, seals and polymer components that maintain sterility and compatibility with sensitive drug formulations.

In addition to component manufacturing, West provides engineered delivery systems and support services across the product lifecycle.