Cresset Asset Management LLC Sells 2,681 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Cresset Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 27,548 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,681 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $9,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the 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 holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 203,198 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,110,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,019,007,000 after acquiring an additional 44,376 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,552,036 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $835,945,000 after acquiring an additional 266,488 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,778,940 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $581,209,000 after acquiring an additional 38,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,090,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $357,238,000 after purchasing an additional 494,828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $213.03 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $372.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $217.07 and a 200-day moving average of $279.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The company's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is currently 13.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.50.

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.

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