West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Holdings Lifted by Norden Group LLC

Norden Group LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 24.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,511 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 24.5% during the third quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,476 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.5% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 42,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $12,621,000 after purchasing an additional 12,745 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 56.1% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 3,067 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RTD Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 120.2% during the third quarter. RTD Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,524 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 4.4 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $232.43 on Friday. 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 $305.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.81 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.01 and a 52 week high of $400.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. Equities research 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 disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.00.

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.