California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,810 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 16,595 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.16% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $37,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance
Shares of WST stock traded down $16.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $203.00. 988,349 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 673,536. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $251.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. 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 fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $396.75.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. Analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup began 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 objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.50.
Get Our Latest Analysis on WST
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.
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