West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stake Lowered by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp lowered its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,474 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned 0.11% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $17,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 34.7% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 5,581 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 103.8% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the period. National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $706,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 571 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:WST traded up $5.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $226.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 634,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 736,553. The firm has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.51, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $352.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $216.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $247.76.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued 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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.23% and a net margin of 16.13%. The firm had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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