Commerce Bank Sells 8,136 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Commerce Bank reduced its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 78.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 8,136 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $731,747,000 after acquiring an additional 716,442 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,090,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $357,238,000 after purchasing an additional 494,828 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,277.7% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 425,915 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $139,513,000 after purchasing an additional 417,995 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $66,322,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.0% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 231,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $51,905,000 after buying an additional 154,315 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WST. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST traded up $0.76 on Friday, reaching $241.30. 445,204 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 887,061. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $352.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $227.16 and a 200-day moving average of $232.05. The company has a market capitalization of $17.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.12, a PEG ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%. The firm had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.57%.

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.