Handelsbanken Fonder AB Trims Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,850 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 10,805 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.05% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $14,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 190 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 235 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total transaction of $23,077,900.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,023,943.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total value of $2,559,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total transaction of $23,077,900.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,023,943.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST traded down $4.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $385.73. The company had a trading volume of 757,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 512,229. 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 1 year low of $310.42 and a 1 year high of $415.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $377.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $364.26. The company has a market cap of $28.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.95, a P/E/G ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.43 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WST. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of 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 upped their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $435.20.

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.