Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $1.13 Billion Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 203,198 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,130,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 4.9 %

WST stock opened at $221.24 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $314.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $310.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.07, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $400.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on WST shares. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.00.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.