National Bank of Canada FI Cuts Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,857 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 10,727 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.06% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $14,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WST. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $597,061,000 after acquiring an additional 578,796 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 806,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $302,458,000 after purchasing an additional 33,867 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 750,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $281,524,000 after buying an additional 60,927 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $215,011,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.5% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 476,407 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $178,753,000 after buying an additional 37,153 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, 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 value of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services 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 owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 reduced their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp raised their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.5 %

WST opened at $368.35 on Wednesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $310.42 and a 12 month high of $415.73. The company has a market cap of $26.83 billion, a PE ratio of 48.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $378.17 and a 200 day moving average of $363.02.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $695.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

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.