Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $27.96 Million Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 41.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,416 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 55,358 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.11% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $27,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,864 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 849 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 103,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $42,381,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,716,312 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,579,876,000 after purchasing an additional 82,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 152.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,262 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST stock traded down $7.58 on Friday, reaching $380.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 258,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,233. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $310.42 and a 12-month high of $415.73. The company has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.22, a PEG ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $381.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $363.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The company had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.21%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 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.