M&T Bank Corp Sells 1,351 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

M&T Bank Corp lowered its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 79,474 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,351 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned 0.11% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $26,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on WST shares. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp cut their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $344.00.

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West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.5 %

WST traded down $1.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $231.55. 892,220 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 973,264. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $295.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $305.85. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $400.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. Analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is 12.56%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.