Praxis Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $681,000.
Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WST. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $231,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 55,679 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $18,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,940 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $272,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. 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, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.50.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on West Pharmaceutical Services
West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.8%
Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $216.11 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $352.33. The firm has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a PE ratio of 33.93, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.77 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $256.53.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 18.23%. The business had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given 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 0.39%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 13.19%.
About West Pharmaceutical Services
(
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.
Further Reading
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider West Pharmaceutical Services, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and West Pharmaceutical Services wasn't on the list.
While West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of seven stocks and why their long-term outlooks are very promising.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
