Sei Investments Co. Purchases 20,381 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 510,273 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 20,381 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.70% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $167,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew 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 buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE WST traded down $0.99 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $224.81. The stock had a trading volume of 704,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,583. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $197.01 and a one year high of $397.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79.

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West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $739.59 million. Sell-side analysts predict 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 given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WST. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp reduced their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.50.

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.