Norges Bank Makes New Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Norges Bank bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 887,177 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $290,604,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.23% of West Pharmaceutical Services as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.50.

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West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE WST traded down $4.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $217.26. The stock had a trading volume of 157,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 665,263. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $256.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $296.18. The company has a market capitalization of $15.71 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.01 and a 12 month high of $396.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.56%.

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.