West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp reduced its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,338 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 4,435 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $11,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WST. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13,230.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,571,000 after acquiring an additional 18,522 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 750,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $281,524,000 after purchasing an additional 60,927 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,830 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 11,720 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,958 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,563,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:WST traded up $5.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $368.68. 445,557 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 518,225. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.61. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $310.42 and a 12 month high of $415.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.95, a PEG ratio of 6.30 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $377.77 and a 200 day moving average of $363.37.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued 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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The business had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $435.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were 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 approximately $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.