Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $849.19 Million Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,592,483 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 11,063 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 3.58% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $849,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings 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. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of 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 worth $3,269,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $222.08 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $263.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $297.79. 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 cap of $16.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during 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%. Equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors 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 yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WST. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.