West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,978 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,255 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $11,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WST. Evercore ISI started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp lowered their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $216.51 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $372.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $218.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.36, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.19%.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.