Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 165.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 3,555 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services makes up about 0.9% of Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after purchasing an additional 203,198 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,110,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,019,007,000 after buying an additional 44,376 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,552,036 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $835,945,000 after buying an additional 266,488 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,778,940 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $581,209,000 after buying an additional 38,757 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,090,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $357,238,000 after acquiring an additional 494,828 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST opened at $208.88 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $214.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.03. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.43 and a 52-week high of $352.33. The company has a market cap of $15.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.22, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.19%.

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.

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