Two Sigma Advisers LP Has $2.20 Million Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lessened its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 82.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 32,400 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $210.72. The company had a trading volume of 879,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,328. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $211.20 and a 200-day moving average of $266.93. The firm has a market cap of $15.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $698.00 million during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 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.