Rafferty Asset Management LLC Buys 860 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,218 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 860 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position 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. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WST stock opened at $217.00 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $15.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.88. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $355.66.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WST. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Stephens raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.