1,789 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Bought by GF Fund Management CO. LTD.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,789 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $586,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WST. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target 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, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock traded up $0.50 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $211.52. 424,153 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 726,466. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $212.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $269.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th 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 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 13.19%.

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.