FIL Ltd Has $1.95 Million Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

FIL Ltd lessened its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 81.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,940 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 26,415 shares during the period. FIL Ltd’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 3.4 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $210.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $394.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $231.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

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.