ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 125,748 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 612,620 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 125,748 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.85% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $160,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,432 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,176 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,358,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $660,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $285.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $390.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $330.13.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 7.6%

Shares of WST opened at $249.13 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.18. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $332.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $264.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $262.19.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 13.04%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.