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

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 13.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & 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 SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $221.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.15, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $212.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.14. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33. 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 (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The firm had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. 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%.

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.