LPL Financial LLC Has $21.54 Million Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,757 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 13,301 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.09% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $21,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,980 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,269,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on WST. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp reduced their price target on 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 upped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WST traded down $16.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $203.00. 988,349 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 671,818. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $251.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.01 and a 52 week high of $396.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. Sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.