West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Bought by Evergreen Private Wealth LLC

Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,922 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $232.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.01 and a twelve month high of $400.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $299.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.81. The firm has a market cap of $16.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.73, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. Sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.00.

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.