LPL Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 25.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,757 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,301 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.09% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $21,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $222.08 on Monday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.01 and a 12 month high of $396.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $263.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $297.79. 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 market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.