Prudential PLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 66.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,863 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 6,761 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance
Shares of NYSE WST traded up $7.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $210.75. 804,963 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 688,923. The company has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, 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 $187.43 and a twelve month high of $394.42. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $231.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.85.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. As a group, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend
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. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 12.56%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WST shares. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America upped 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. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.50.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on WST
About West Pharmaceutical Services
(
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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