Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 17,574 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,471 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 17,574 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.16% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $38,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,980 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,269,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Two investment 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, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $7.79 during trading on Friday, reaching $212.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 179,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 945,692. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $197.01 and a one year high of $396.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $254.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $295.65. 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 capitalization of $15.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during 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 fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 0.40%. 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.