Mizuho Securities USA LLC Acquires 2,160 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 45.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,864 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,980 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WST shares. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI began 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 for the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.4 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $231.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $272.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $299.96. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $397.72.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. Research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

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.