Ardevora Asset Management LLP Sells 11,511 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Ardevora Asset Management LLP lowered its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 41.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,945 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 11,511 shares during the quarter. Ardevora Asset Management LLP's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $237,367,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 578,796 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $215,011,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 359,021 shares during the period. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,610,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services 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 transaction of $292,438.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WST shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $5.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $372.04. 444,740 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 314,853. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $378.56 and a 200 day moving average of $364.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $310.42 and a 1-year high of $415.73. The company has a market capitalization of $27.24 billion, a PE ratio of 47.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $732.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is 10.15%.

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.