West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Bought by Parnassus Investments LLC

Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,479 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,090 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 0.09% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $20,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted 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 last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

NYSE:WST opened at $224.01 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $289.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $304.27. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.01 and a 1-year high of $400.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a PEG 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. Analysts forecast 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 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 is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WST shares. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued 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 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.