Bank of New York Mellon Corp Trims Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,375,321 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 74,490 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 4.67% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $755,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 5,581 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 103.8% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $706,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 571 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $320.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE:WST traded up $5.72 on Wednesday, hitting $226.20. The stock had a trading volume of 424,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,770. The business's fifty day moving average is $216.08 and its 200 day moving average is $247.76. The company has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.23% and a net margin of 16.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.19%.

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.