CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Has $2.25 Million Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lowered its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,664 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 112 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,130,020,000 after purchasing an additional 203,198 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $964,850,000 after buying an additional 10,060 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,110,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,019,007,000 after buying an additional 44,376 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $520,569,000 after acquiring an additional 12,850 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $290,604,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $221.49 on Thursday. 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 52 week low of $197.01 and a 52 week high of $396.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $256.73 and a 200-day moving average of $296.18.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp cut their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.