KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $7.96 Million in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 24,300 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $7,960,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $46,151,000 after purchasing an additional 16,418 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.4% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $39,124,000 after buying an additional 23,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

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West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of WST stock traded down $3.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $222.08. The company had a trading volume of 496,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 664,265. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company's fifty day moving average is $263.98 and its 200 day moving average is $297.88. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $396.75.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two investment 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.