Signaturefd LLC Acquires 88 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 980 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $225,851,000 after purchasing an additional 676,167 shares during the last quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $145,379,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $178,828,000 after acquiring an additional 396,780 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,646,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,130,020,000 after acquiring an additional 203,198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $229.03 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.01 and a 52-week high of $397.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $300.50. The firm has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. On average, analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp cut their target price 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. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.