Jones Financial Companies Lllp Grows Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 65.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,111 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $225,851,000 after buying an additional 676,167 shares during the period. Seilern Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at $145,379,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $178,828,000 after buying an additional 396,780 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after buying an additional 203,198 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,114,000 after buying an additional 122,361 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST opened at $231.76 on Wednesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $400.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.83. The company has a market capitalization of $16.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.00.

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.