Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 8,115 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 43.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,623 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 8,115 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $3,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,151,000 after acquiring an additional 16,418 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,124,000 after buying an additional 23,850 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,160,000 after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WST. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of 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 West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE WST opened at $224.81 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.01 and a 1-year high of $397.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $268.49 and a 200-day moving average of $298.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.