Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Decreases Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 143,807 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 18,844 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $47,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on WST shares. Stephens upgraded shares of 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 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $213.39 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $216.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.41. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $372.52. The company has a market capitalization of $15.33 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.19%.

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.