Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,860 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 4,812 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned 0.06% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $15,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 209 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WST shares. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 4.0 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $8.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $202.66. The company had a trading volume of 2,873,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,696. The firm has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $323.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $312.73. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $400.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 17.03%. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.35 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.56%.

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.