North Growth Management Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

North Growth Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 38.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the quarter. North Growth Management Ltd.'s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% during the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,755 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 72,007 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $16,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at about $780,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WST. Wall Street Zen downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research 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. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WST traded down $1.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $216.11. 858,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 728,906. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.93, a PEG ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $213.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $256.10. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $352.33.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 18.23%. The company had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.