Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $437,000 Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 24.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,334 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after purchasing an additional 203,198 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $964,850,000 after acquiring an additional 10,060 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $520,569,000 after acquiring an additional 12,850 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $225,851,000 after acquiring an additional 676,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,114,000 after purchasing an additional 122,361 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST opened at $234.40 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $281.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.01 and a twelve month high of $400.88. The firm has a market cap of $16.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. On average, analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup initiated 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 objective on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. KeyCorp reduced 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.