Ieq Capital LLC Buys Shares of 706 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 706 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the 4th 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. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on WST shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 4.4 %

WST stock opened at $232.43 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $305.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.74, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $400.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

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.