Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases Shares of 5,666 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired 5,666 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, valued at approximately $1,269,000, as part of its new stake in the company.
• In the first quarter, several hedge funds increased their stakes in West Pharmaceutical Services, with Federated Hermes Inc. raising its holdings by 199.0% to own 231,841 shares valued at $51,905,000.
• West Pharmaceutical Services recently announced a dividend increase from $0.21 to $0.22 per share, with a payout ratio of 12.57% and an annualized dividend yield of 0.35%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,666 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $1,269,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 103.8% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 5,581 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,799,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,486 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,899,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WST shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $239.15. 632,899 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 841,329. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $352.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.05. The business's 50 day moving average is $224.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The firm's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is 12.57%.

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.