West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Holdings Trimmed by Alpine Peaks Capital LP

Alpine Peaks Capital LP reduced its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 3,769 shares during the quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services makes up about 5.3% of Alpine Peaks Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Alpine Peaks Capital LP's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $6,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in 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. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% in 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 period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WST. Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. 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. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WST traded up $3.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $214.56. The company had a trading volume of 905,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,559. The stock has a market cap of $15.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.79. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $372.79.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is currently 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.