Headlands Technologies LLC Makes New Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC has acquired 2,061 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., valued at approximately $461,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the medical instruments supplier.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported a net margin of 16.48% and $766.50 million in revenue for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a 9.2% increase year-over-year.
• The company recently announced an increase in their quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, marking a boost from the previous dividend and highlighting a 12.57% payout ratio.

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,061 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 103.8% during the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 34.7% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 5,581 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 43.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth about $2,799,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,486 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,899,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $3.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $243.27. The stock had a trading volume of 156,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 856,179. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.41, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $352.33. The stock's fifty day moving average is $228.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.60.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $766.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is 12.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WST. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued 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 $320.71.

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.