West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Bought by Fred Alger Management LLC

Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST – Get Rating) by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,716 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,378 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $6,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,918 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,687,000 after purchasing an additional 2,389 shares during the last quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $239,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 49.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,356,000 after purchasing an additional 4,778 shares during the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 12.1% in the second quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 831 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Credit Suisse AG increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% in the second quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 131,963 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,901,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST opened at $328.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 3.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.36 billion, a PE ratio of 42.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $279.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.85. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.19 and a 12-month high of $424.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $708.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $657.16 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 26th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 25th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 44,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.35, for a total value of $14,183,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,705 shares in the company, valued at $27,627,006.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, November 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $250.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.25.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

(Get Rating)

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare products. It operates through the following business segments: Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. The Proprietary Products segment offers proprietary packaging, containment and drug delivery products, along with analytical lab services, to biologic, generic and pharmaceutical drug customers.