West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stake Decreased by Cynosure Group LLC

Cynosure Group LLC cut its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 87.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 7,275 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $46,151,000 after buying an additional 16,418 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 2,427 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.4% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $39,124,000 after acquiring an additional 23,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 80.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,153,000 after purchasing an additional 3,042 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WST shares. KeyCorp reduced their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $16.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $203.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 988,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 673,536. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $197.01 and a one year high of $396.75. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $251.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $294.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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