Annex Advisory Services LLC Acquires 12,568 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 34.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,648 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 12,568 shares during the quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC owned 0.07% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $15,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $964,850,000 after acquiring an additional 10,060 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $520,569,000 after purchasing an additional 12,850 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $205,114,000 after purchasing an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $178,828,000 after purchasing an additional 396,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 448,184 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $134,527,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $336.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 610,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 468,098. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.87, a PEG ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $327.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $312.65. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.21 dividend. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.46%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.