Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 25.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 949,455 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 194,216 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.32% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $212,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 103.8% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 34.7% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 5,581 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 1,437 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,799,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,486 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,899,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.0%
NYSE WST traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $246.16. The company had a trading volume of 781,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,536. The firm has a market cap of $17.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $352.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $230.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.08.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%. West Pharmaceutical Services's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend
The firm 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.57%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms have weighed in on WST. Evercore ISI upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $320.71.
Read Our Latest Report on West Pharmaceutical Services
West Pharmaceutical Services Profile
(
Free Report)
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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