Avanza Fonder AB Invests $2.55 Million in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,793 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,553,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WST. FMR LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after purchasing an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during the 3rd 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 worth $205,114,000 after buying an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 444,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $133,271,000 after buying an additional 101,710 shares during the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 33.0% in the third quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 397,152 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $119,209,000 after buying an additional 98,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 88.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 134,483 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,366,000 after acquiring an additional 63,102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.3 %

WST opened at $336.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $265.00 and a fifty-two week high of $413.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $327.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.87, a PEG ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.