West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Acquired by Assetmark Inc.

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. has significantly increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 341.7%, adding 27,439 shares to own a total of 35,469 shares valued at about $7.94 million.
• West Pharmaceutical Services recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.22 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 0.33%.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for West Pharmaceutical Services, with UBS Group setting a new target of $320.00 and Evercore ISI increasing their target to $350.00.

Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 341.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,469 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 27,439 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $7,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.0% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth about $53,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 248.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 38.5% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. 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 assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 2.0%

WST stock traded down $4.92 on Thursday, hitting $244.29. 168,054 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 871,908. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $352.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The business's fifty day moving average is $222.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The firm had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. 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.