West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,780,884 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 503,003 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 2.46% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $583,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,656 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,180,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,838 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 115,810 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $37,935,000 after purchasing an additional 16,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $706,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on WST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $16.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $203.00. 988,349 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 673,536. The stock has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's fifty day moving average is $251.41 and its 200 day moving average is $294.99. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.01 and a 12 month high of $396.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.