Tidal Investments LLC Has $2.75 Million Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,161 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 322.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth $41,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,633.3% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 172 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 332.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WST. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $437.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.5 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $330.05 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $312.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.97, a P/E/G ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $265.00 and a twelve month high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.