KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 24,300 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $7,960,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 448,184 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $134,527,000 after acquiring an additional 6,756 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 94.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,589,000 after purchasing an additional 2,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST opened at $231.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $272.64 and a 200-day moving average of $299.96. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $197.01 and a one year high of $397.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.