Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Purchases Shares of 829 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 829 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased 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 worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $210.72 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $316.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $310.73. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $400.88. The company has a market capitalization of $15.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders 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 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WST shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.00.

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.