West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 63.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in 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 purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $385.73 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $310.42 and a 52-week high of $415.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $28.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.95, a PEG ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $377.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $364.26.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The company had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 1,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $709,708.98. 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 in the last three months. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WST shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.20.

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.