Fmr LLC Raises Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Fmr LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 83.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,090,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 494,828 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $357,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.2 %

WST stock opened at $203.94 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $394.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. As a group, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WST shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.