Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 1,426 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,864 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,426 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.05% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $12,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after buying an additional 203,198 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $964,850,000 after acquiring an additional 10,060 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $520,569,000 after purchasing an additional 12,850 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $225,851,000 after purchasing an additional 676,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $205,114,000 after purchasing an additional 122,361 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup started 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. Bank of America increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.0 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $2.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $222.46. 164,954 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 947,417. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.01 and a 52-week high of $396.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business's 50-day moving average price is $259.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $296.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $739.59 million. On average, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 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.