Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 3,722 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,459 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 3,722 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $9,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,130,020,000 after purchasing an additional 203,198 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,110,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,019,007,000 after purchasing an additional 44,376 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,552,036 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $835,945,000 after purchasing an additional 266,488 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,778,940 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $581,209,000 after purchasing an additional 38,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.1% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $210.72. 879,573 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 728,486. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $352.33. The company has a market cap of $15.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $211.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.46.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The company had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.40%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.