Pier Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Pier Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,553 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the quarter. Pier Capital LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE WST opened at $231.93 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.01 and a 52 week high of $397.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $272.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. 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. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.50.

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.