Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 289,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 28,421 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.40% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $94,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance
Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $8.34 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $202.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,880,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,776. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $323.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $312.73. The firm has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $400.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.62%. On average, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.35 EPS for the current year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 12.56%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts have weighed in on WST shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective 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 on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $344.00.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on WST
West Pharmaceutical Services Profile
(
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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