Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Has $298,000 Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lessened its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 55.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,333 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,660 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.0% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 248.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $74,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 38.5% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 331 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WST. Stephens raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST traded down $15.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $263.32. 1,493,189 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 777,491. The stock's fifty day moving average is $220.56 and its 200 day moving average is $238.54. The stock has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.77. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $352.33.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 16.48%. The business had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.