Aviva PLC Reduces Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Aviva PLC reduced its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 54.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 55,024 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned 0.06% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $14,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 3.4 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $7.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $210.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 804,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 690,645. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.73. The company has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $394.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. On average, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WST. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.50.

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.