Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 0.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,987,462 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,509 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.41% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $2,943,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during 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, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.8 %
Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $3.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $222.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 496,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 664,265. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $263.98 and a 200-day moving average of $297.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $396.75.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 12.56%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
WST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price target 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.50.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis 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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