77,654 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Bought by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 77,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $25,436,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WST. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of 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 worth $225,851,000 after buying an additional 676,167 shares during the period. Seilern Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $145,379,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $178,828,000 after purchasing an additional 396,780 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after purchasing an additional 203,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,114,000 after purchasing an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $232.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $305.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.12. The firm has a market cap of $16.81 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $197.01 and a 12-month high of $400.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upgraded 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.00.

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.