Captrust Financial Advisors reduced its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,366 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,568 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts have commented on WST shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target 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 note on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.50.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on WST
West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.2%
Shares of NYSE WST traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $217.00. The stock had a trading volume of 535,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,647. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $355.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $214.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.88. The firm has a market cap of $15.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 13.19%.
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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