West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV lessened its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 14.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,434 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 5,557 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $8,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WST. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,020 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 55.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 289 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% during the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 65,858 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:WST opened at $246.97 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $262.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.18. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $324.33.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The business had revenue of $805.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.70 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 13.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WST. Barclays upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $320.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.22.

West Pharmaceutical Services Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a global developer and manufacturer of components, systems and services that enable the containment and delivery of injectable drugs. The company focuses on high-quality packaging and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, producing primary drug packaging components and specialized drug delivery devices used for vaccines, biologics and other injectable therapies. West is known for its elastomeric closures, seals and polymer components that maintain sterility and compatibility with sensitive drug formulations.

In addition to component manufacturing, West provides engineered delivery systems and support services across the product lifecycle.