Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,339 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,217 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $7,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,604,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $731,747,000 after buying an additional 716,442 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 731.8% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 640,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $209,879,000 after buying an additional 563,705 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised 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 valued at $357,238,000 after buying an additional 494,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 417,995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WST traded down $2.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $226.93. 465,375 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 737,107. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $352.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $217.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $246.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 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 (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 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 company 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 company earned $1.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $320.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.