Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 4,940 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,679 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,940 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.08% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $18,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WST. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth $41,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on WST shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, 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. 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $210.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $400.88. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $316.29 and a 200-day moving average of $310.57.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 anticipate 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend 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.