West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Riverbridge Partners LLC

Riverbridge Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 469,245 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 8,295 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services makes up approximately 2.2% of Riverbridge Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Riverbridge Partners LLC owned approximately 0.63% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $165,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $237,367,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $597,061,000 after purchasing an additional 578,796 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at about $215,011,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 73.2% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 849,266 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $294,246,000 after purchasing an additional 359,021 shares during the period. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,610,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $435.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $386.14. 386,910 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 540,154. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $379.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $363.75. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $310.42 and a 52-week high of $415.73. The company has a market cap of $28.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.00, a PEG ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 1.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.77 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.21%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is currently 10.15%.

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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