Retirement Systems of Alabama Decreases Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 395 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $365.02 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.16, a PEG ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $310.42 and a 52 week high of $415.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $377.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $363.10.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. Analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 10.55%.

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.