Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Cuts Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lowered its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WST. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 489 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 11,058 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,622,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 94,982 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $31,112,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $218.18 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 2.03 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 $352.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.70. The stock has a market cap of $15.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.09.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 18.23%. The firm had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The business's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Profile

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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