West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Bought by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 510,273 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,381 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $167,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,980 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $229.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.01 and a 1-year high of $397.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $274.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $300.50.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WST. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp dropped 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 note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup began 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 target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

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.