Amundi Acquires 93,692 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 39.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 331,781 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 93,692 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.46% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $111,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WST shares. Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE:WST opened at $226.04 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.01 and a 1-year high of $400.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $293.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $305.33. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $16.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.79, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

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.