West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Bought by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 77.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 227,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 99,006 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $74,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% during 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 in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 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. Citigroup started 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 target on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $209.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $224.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.97. The company has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $394.42.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million during 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, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

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.