Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 21.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,850 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 10,805 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.05% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $14,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 6,437 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,267,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 235 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. abrdn plc grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 182,057 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $64,106,000 after acquiring an additional 39,156 shares during the period. CNB Bank grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. CNB Bank now owns 972 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 34,326 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,087,000 after acquiring an additional 6,143 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of WST opened at $389.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $377.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $364.11. The stock has a market cap of $28.55 billion, a PE ratio of 49.49, a P/E/G ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.04. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $310.42 and a 12 month high of $415.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.24.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $740.43 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WST. KeyCorp boosted 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 upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.20.

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.