Achmea Investment Management B.V. lessened its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 41.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,945 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.'s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
WST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp dropped 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. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.50.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on West Pharmaceutical Services
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance
NYSE:WST traded down $4.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $230.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 818,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 623,701. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $281.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $16.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $400.88.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.
About West Pharmaceutical Services
(
Free Report)
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.
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