Man Group plc Decreases Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Man Group plc trimmed its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,362 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 7,046 shares during the period. Man Group plc's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $290,604,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $225,851,000 after purchasing an additional 676,167 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 731.8% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 640,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $209,879,000 after purchasing an additional 563,705 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.1% during 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. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,277.7% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 425,915 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $139,513,000 after purchasing an additional 417,995 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST traded down $2.83 on Monday, reaching $205.67. 606,092 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 727,567. 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 cap of $14.78 billion, a PE ratio of 30.74, 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 current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $213.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. West Pharmaceutical Services's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WST shares. Stephens raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.