Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Has $222,000 Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 60.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 990 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,517 shares during the quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $290,604,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 676,167 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 731.8% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 640,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $209,879,000 after acquiring an additional 563,705 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,090,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $357,238,000 after acquiring an additional 494,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,277.7% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 425,915 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $139,513,000 after purchasing an additional 417,995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.6%

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $224.15 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.45. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $352.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 13.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp reduced 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 research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.50.

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.