California State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST – Get Rating) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,537 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $30,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 194.6% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 165 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 884.2% during the third quarter. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC now owns 187 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Standard Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $329.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 3.70. The company has a market cap of $24.45 billion, a PE ratio of 42.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $287.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.21. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.19 and a fifty-two week high of $424.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $708.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $657.16 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 20.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 25th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 44,000 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.35, for a total transaction of $14,183,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,627,006.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. UBS Group started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, November 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $250.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.25.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

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West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare products. It operates through the following business segments: Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. The Proprietary Products segment offers proprietary packaging, containment and drug delivery products, along with analytical lab services, to biologic, generic and pharmaceutical drug customers.