Keybank National Association OH cut its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,953 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 5,856 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $6,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
WST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $344.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on WST
West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance
Shares of WST stock traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $231.55. The stock had a trading volume of 892,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 973,264. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $295.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $305.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.01 and a twelve month high of $400.88.
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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.
West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 12.56%.
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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