Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $825,000 Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $825,000. West Pharmaceutical Services accounts for about 0.7% of Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,511 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 24.5% during the third quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,476 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.5% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 42,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,621,000 after purchasing an additional 12,745 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 56.1% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 3,067 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Finally, RTD Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 120.2% during the 3rd quarter. RTD Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $232.43 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $305.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $308.21. The stock 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. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The company 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%. On average, equities analysts expect 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

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.