Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 483 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 12.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,393 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 483 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,384 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,653,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 748 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,666 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,821,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 1,167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $434,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:WST opened at $239.77 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $228.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.60. The company has a market capitalization of $17.24 billion, a PE ratio of 35.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $352.33.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.57%.

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.