T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 733,262 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 106,048 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.01% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $240,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts have recently commented on WST shares. Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.50.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on West Pharmaceutical Services
West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance
West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $3.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $214.56. 905,920 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 719,559. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $372.79. The firm has a market cap of $15.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.07, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $217.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $283.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.
West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. As a group, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 13.19%.
West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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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