Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 9,883 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 20.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 9,883 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $12,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $222.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $396.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $263.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WST. KeyCorp cut their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

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.