First Hawaiian Bank Sells 1,985 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

First Hawaiian Bank reduced its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 32.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,092 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,985 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WST. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE WST traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $211.60. 151,244 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 724,996. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $352.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14. 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 business's 50-day moving average is $210.59 and its 200-day moving average is $265.31.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $698.00 million for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.