Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Raises Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,638 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 214 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. 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 worth $72,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $72,646,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 21,071 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,902,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $25,436,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 8,030 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST opened at $231.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $295.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.85. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $400.88.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.