Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Boosts Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $9,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 10,825 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,546,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 7,640 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 110,447 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,178,000 after purchasing an additional 3,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on WST shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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 research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $232.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.81 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.01 and a twelve month high of $400.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $305.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $308.12. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

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.