Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $825,000. West Pharmaceutical Services comprises about 0.7% of Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% during 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 buying an additional 203,198 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $964,850,000 after purchasing an additional 10,060 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $520,569,000 after purchasing an additional 12,850 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of WST traded up $5.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $230.56. 729,000 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 975,336. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The company has a market cap of $16.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50 day moving average is $301.48 and its 200-day moving average is $307.34. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.01 and a 52 week high of $400.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.