Accretive Wealth Partners LLC Takes $946,000 Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Accretive Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $946,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,980 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,269,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 research note on Friday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 7.9 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $214.84 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $313.82. 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 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. On average, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 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.