Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 8,778 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group reduced its West Pharmaceutical Services stake by 5.2%, selling 8,778 shares and retaining 159,302 shares worth about $59.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.9% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 13 analysts rate WST a Buy and one a Hold, giving it a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $424.67.
• West beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $2.66 and revenue of $874.5 million; revenue grew 8.7% year over year. It also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.22 to $0.26 per share.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 159,302 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 8,778 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $59,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at $8,999,000. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 58.9% in the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 2,210 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.3% in the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.8% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.4% during the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 804 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $447.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $475.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $424.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Annette Favorite sold 8,135 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.81, for a total value of $2,772,489.35. Following the sale, the vice president owned 16,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,740,944.45. This represents a 32.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 15,659 shares of company stock worth $5,443,749 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $408.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $369.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $314.55. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $223.83 and a one year high of $438.27.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $874.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $827.12 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 18.81%. West Pharmaceutical Services's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. Equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.88%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc develops and manufactures components and delivery systems used in the administration and packaging of injectable medicines and other healthcare products. Its offerings include elastomer closures, seals, syringe components, drug-delivery systems, and other specialized packaging components designed to support the safety, quality, and performance of pharmaceutical products.

The company also provides contract-manufacturing services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device customers.

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