Cromwell Holdings LLC Buys 83 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 56.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 231 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $76,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $964,850,000 after acquiring an additional 10,060 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $520,569,000 after buying an additional 12,850 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% during 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 buying an additional 676,167 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,114,000 after buying an additional 122,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $178,828,000 after buying an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $203.43 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 $14.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $318.68 and its 200 day moving average is $311.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. Sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America upped 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.