631 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Acquired by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 631 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WST. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 288,639 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $95,075,000 after purchasing an additional 30,253 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,366 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 207,564 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $68,370,000 after purchasing an additional 41,454 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WST. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.20.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST opened at $336.15 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $327.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.71. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The stock has a market cap of $24.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.87, a P/E/G ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.46%.

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.