West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Position Increased by Norden Group LLC

Norden Group LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $232.43 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $400.88. The stock has a market cap of $16.81 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $305.65 and its 200-day moving average is $308.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $748.80 million for 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 analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on WST. KeyCorp cut their target price on 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. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.00.

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.