Swiss National Bank Cuts Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 231,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 7,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.31% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $81,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.9 %

WST stock traded down $3.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $365.02. 451,107 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 447,014. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $377.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $363.10. The firm has a market cap of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.16, a P/E/G ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05. 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 1-year low of $310.42 and a 1-year high of $415.73.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $670.62 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the business's 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 in the company, valued at $709,708.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on WST shares. KeyCorp upped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $435.20.

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.