Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Has $403,000 Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust trimmed its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,231 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 163 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $225,851,000 after purchasing an additional 676,167 shares in the last quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $145,379,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $178,828,000 after purchasing an additional 396,780 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after purchasing an additional 203,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,114,000 after purchasing an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $232.43 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $305.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.12. The firm has a market cap of $16.81 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $400.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. On average, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WST shares. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.00.

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.