West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stock Position Boosted by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,812 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 2,744 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.09% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $20,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $46,151,000 after purchasing an additional 16,418 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 2,427 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,553,000. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 904.2% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 21,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $7,187,000 after purchasing an additional 19,756 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock traded down $7.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $210.44. 2,545,598 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 718,593. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $217.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $284.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a market cap of $15.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $394.42.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.15. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. Research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio 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.