Rockland Trust Co. Acquires 4,980 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,724 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,980 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. owned about 0.09% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $14,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fiera Capital Corp raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,151,000 after acquiring an additional 16,418 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $706,000. Consolidated Planning Corp grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 188.3% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 3,140 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 571 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $225.10 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $352.33. The stock has a market cap of $16.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $211.44 and a 200-day moving average of $261.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WST shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. KeyCorp reduced their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

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.