Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Invests $31.11 Million in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 94,988 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $31,114,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $222.08 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $396.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $263.98 and its 200 day moving average is $297.88. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped 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 note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.