Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 19,936 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 468,120 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 19,936 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.65% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $153,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $46,151,000 after purchasing an additional 16,418 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in 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 raised its holdings in 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 valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,037 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.4% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $39,124,000 after acquiring an additional 23,850 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST traded up $5.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $231.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,264,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 983,277. The company's 50-day moving average price is $293.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.33. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $400.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $16.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. 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.