Wedmont Private Capital Buys 433 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 26.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 433 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in 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 period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stephens raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST opened at $227.45 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $210.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $262.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. 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 $187.43 and a 52-week high of $352.33.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.19%.

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.