Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Raises Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,276 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 17,985 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.16% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $38,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,536,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,794,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,161 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,750,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,756 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $27,541,000 after buying an additional 2,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dudley & Shanley Inc. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 81,131 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $24,352,000 after buying an additional 11,085 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE WST traded down $2.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $213.34. 649,161 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 720,329. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.43 and a 52-week high of $372.79. The company's 50-day moving average is $218.17 and its 200-day moving average is $283.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. Analysts expect 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, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.19%.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.