1,795 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Bought by Corient IA LLC

Corient IA LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,795 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 9,318 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,105,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 7,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.0%

WST opened at $246.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $230.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.78. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.43 and a 12 month high of $352.33.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on WST shares. Barclays assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.71.

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.