DF Dent & Co. Inc. Has $130.07 Million Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

DF Dent & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 397,096 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services comprises approximately 1.6% of DF Dent & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. DF Dent & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $130,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:WST opened at $221.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.18. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $396.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 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 analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. Sell-side 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors 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 yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.