Allstate Corp Purchases New Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,156 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $706,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.8 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $223.95 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.01 and a 52-week high of $396.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $261.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $297.28.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. Sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.