Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 77,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $25,436,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.11% of West Pharmaceutical Services as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $225,851,000 after purchasing an additional 676,167 shares in the last quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $145,379,000. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 396,780 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after acquiring an additional 203,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have 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 company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.3 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $2.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $234.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 575,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 622,624. 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 quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $283.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.66.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 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.