Artemis Investment Management LLP Takes $20.91 Million Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 63,842 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $20,912,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned 0.09% of West Pharmaceutical Services as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WST. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,264 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,553,000. Finally, JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. This trade represents a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of WST traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $336.15. The company had a trading volume of 610,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 468,098. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $265.00 and a 52 week high of $413.70. The company's 50 day moving average price is $327.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $312.65. The stock has a market cap of $24.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.87, a PEG ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $430.20.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.