Accretive Wealth Partners LLC Makes New $946,000 Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Accretive Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $946,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp dropped 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 research report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $8.34 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $202.66. 2,880,597 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 874,011. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $321.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $311.96. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.01 and a 1-year high of $400.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.62%. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million. Equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.35 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

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.