Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 167,746 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 29,118 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.23% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $54,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $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 grew 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts recently commented on WST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp decreased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.50.
Read Our Latest Report on WST
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.7%
Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $3.65 on Tuesday, reaching $215.81. The company had a trading volume of 430,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,722. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $362.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $215.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.26, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14. 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 (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The business had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.19%.
About West Pharmaceutical Services
(
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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