Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 4,820 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,007 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 4,820 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $16,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WST. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $706,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 571 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,111 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 439 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 equities research analysts have commented on WST shares. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $224.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.54, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $212.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $258.99. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The company had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 13.19%.

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.

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