Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST – Free Report) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,823 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 246 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $4,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,161 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,750,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,794,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,153,000 after acquiring an additional 3,042 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,536,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 80,825 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,260,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.5 %
Shares of WST stock opened at $327.01 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $265.00 and a twelve month high of $413.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $316.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.52, a P/E/G ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01.
West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.46%.
Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services
In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have recently commented on WST. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $437.75.
View Our Latest Research Report on West Pharmaceutical Services
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.
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