Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 63.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,366 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 12,783 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.0% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 190 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 4.5 %

NYSE WST traded down $17.55 during trading on Thursday, hitting $368.18. 742,360 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 515,105. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $310.42 and a 12 month high of $415.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $377.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $364.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.72, a PEG ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 1.04.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp boosted 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 note on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group dropped 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 research note on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $435.20.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total transaction of $724,053.78. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services 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 in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.