Annex Advisory Services LLC Purchases 12,568 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 34.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,648 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,568 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $15,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Hilltop National Bank grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.3 %

WST opened at $336.15 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $327.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $312.65. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $413.70. The stock has a market cap of $24.34 billion, a PE ratio of 49.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The company’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on WST shares. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.