Czech National Bank Increases Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,703 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 926 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 778 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,342 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $329.13 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $326.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $312.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.84 billion, a PE ratio of 48.83, a P/E/G ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The firm had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.20.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.