Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Cuts Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,181 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 10,918 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $10,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WST. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $41,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST traded up $13.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $331.62. The stock had a trading volume of 436,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 563,076. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $311.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $311.71. The firm has a market cap of $24.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.19, a PEG ratio of 24.22 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The company's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday.

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.