KBC Group NV Boosts Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,612 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 2,090 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,922 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 978 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $221.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.56. The company has a market cap of $15.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $352.33.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 18.23%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.19%.

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.