HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Increases Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $290,604,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $225,851,000 after purchasing an additional 676,167 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 731.8% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 640,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $209,879,000 after purchasing an additional 563,705 shares in the last quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $145,379,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,449.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 257,245 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $84,263,000 after buying an additional 240,642 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $221.49 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.18. The firm 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $396.75. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on WST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wolfe Research started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.