Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 28.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,157 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 2,440 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 26.4% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth approximately $11,092,000. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 62.0% in the first quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,615 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,182,000 after acquiring an additional 10,571 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 23.1% in the first quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 59,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $13,403,000 after acquiring an additional 11,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST traded up $1.95 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $225.96. The stock had a trading volume of 219,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 901,294. 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 stock has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.90. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $352.33.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on WST shares. KeyCorp dropped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.50.

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.