Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Buys New Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,283 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,075,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,980 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $227.59 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.01 and a 52-week high of $400.88. The stock has a market cap of $16.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $276.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $301.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.50.

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.