Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC Buys Shares of 2,989 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,989 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $979,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $290,604,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $225,851,000 after purchasing an additional 676,167 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 731.8% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 640,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $209,879,000 after purchasing an additional 563,705 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,090,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $357,238,000 after purchasing an additional 494,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,277.7% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 425,915 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $139,513,000 after purchasing an additional 417,995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST traded up $0.50 on Wednesday, reaching $211.52. 424,145 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 725,690. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $352.33. The business's 50-day moving average is $212.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $269.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The firm's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.