Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 33,078 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Key Points

• Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC acquired 33,078 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., valued at approximately $7,406,000, during the first quarter.
• Recent analyst ratings show a consensus of a "Moderate Buy" for West Pharmaceutical Services, with an average price target of $320.71.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, up from $0.21, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 33,078 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $7,406,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,656 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,180,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,384 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,653,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 748 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 37,248 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $12,201,000 after acquiring an additional 2,390 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 30,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $9,909,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WST shares. Barclays started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Stephens raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST opened at $241.30 on Monday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.43 and a 52-week high of $352.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.35 billion, a PE ratio of 36.12, a PEG ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.78. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $227.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.27.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.17%.

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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