Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Buys New Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 612 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 2nd quarter worth $1,355,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.5% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 14,777 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,435,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 56.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 858 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,466 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $403.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST opened at $321.50 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $265.00 and a twelve month high of $413.56. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.70, a PEG ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $332.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $314.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.46%.

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.