West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 13.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,463 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter valued at $225,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 136.6% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 234,807 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $52,569,000 after acquiring an additional 135,584 shares in the last quarter. Terra Alpha Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% during the first quarter. Terra Alpha Investments LLC now owns 7,057 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,617 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 2,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% during the first quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.4%

WST stock opened at $221.77 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $352.33. The company has a market cap of $15.93 billion, a PE ratio of 33.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.14. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 13.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WST. Wall Street Zen lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.