West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,425 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 11,020 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.18% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $46,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% in the third quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,703 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $639,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Balentine LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

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 shares were 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 $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $3.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $357.48. 697,386 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 518,370. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.95. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $310.42 and a 12 month high of $415.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $377.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $363.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.57% and a net margin of 19.42%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 10.55%.

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.