Xponance Inc. Has $4.82 Million Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,056 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $4,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WST. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,075,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 731.8% during 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 period. Terra Alpha Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,782,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 980 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 11,457 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,753,000 after buying an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $3.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $231.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 654,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 635,677. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $197.01 and a 12 month high of $397.72. 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 company has a market capitalization 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $274.78 and a 200 day moving average of $300.44.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. Analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is presently 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.