Postrock Partners LLC Takes Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Postrock Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 771 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WST. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,533 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,961,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 19.4% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,074 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth about $217,000. Finally, Haverford Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 861 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.1 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $224.01 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.48, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.01 and a 52-week high of $400.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $289.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.27.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.56%.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.