Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $2.25 Million Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 45.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,864 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,160 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $225,851,000 after acquiring an additional 676,167 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 731.8% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 640,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $209,879,000 after purchasing an additional 563,705 shares during the last quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $145,379,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $178,828,000 after buying an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,646,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST opened at $231.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.96. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.01 and a 52-week high of $397.72. 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 has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WST shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.50.

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.