Cornerstone Planning Group LLC Grows Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 57.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 171,644 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $56,224,000 after purchasing an additional 20,427 shares in the last quarter. Tobam raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 4,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Allan Corp raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 7,383 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE WST opened at $321.50 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $332.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $314.48. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of 47.70, a PEG ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $403.75.

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.