Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 35,624 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $11,669,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.9%
Shares of NYSE WST traded up $6.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $219.20. 666,001 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 729,047. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a PE ratio of 32.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14. The company's fifty day moving average is $216.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.99. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $367.71.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The company's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. On average, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is 13.19%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
WST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on 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. Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.50.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on WST
West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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