Bellwether Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 5,273 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Key Points

• Bellwether Advisors LLC has purchased 5,273 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. for approximately $1.18 million, marking a significant investment during the 1st quarter.
• Analysts have set new price targets for West Pharmaceutical Services, raising the price objective from $275 to $350, with the stock receiving multiple "buy" and "strong buy" ratings.
• West Pharmaceutical Services announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, now at $0.22 per share, representing a 0.33% yield, reflecting the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,273 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $1,181,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 9,318 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,105,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE WST traded down $9.00 on Thursday, reaching $240.21. 293,043 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 872,691. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.27 billion, a PE ratio of 36.03, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $352.33. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $222.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $237.52. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%. The business 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 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. 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 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is currently 12.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WST. Wall Street Zen raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. 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 company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.