West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Acquired by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% in the 4th 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 and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $221.49 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $256.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $296.18. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $396.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $16.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.50.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.