National Pension Service Acquires 3,007 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

National Pension Service raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,447 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 3,007 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.15% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $36,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WST shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of 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 and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $232.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.74, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.01 and a 52 week high of $400.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $305.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.12.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.56%.

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.