ProShare Advisors LLC Decreases Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 48.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 577,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 533,588 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $189,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $207.79 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $215.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $276.46. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $358.22. 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 company has a market cap of $14.93 billion, a PE ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The business had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WST. Stephens raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.