Pitcairn Co. Purchases 2,263 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 43.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,502 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.'s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.50.

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West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST traded down $1.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $188.87. The stock had a trading volume of 196,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 677,609. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $242.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.57. The stock has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. 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 twelve month low of $187.57 and a twelve month high of $394.42.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

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.