West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Purchased by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 309,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 3,891 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.43% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $101,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 69.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 3,838 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 88.0% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 39,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,736,000 after purchasing an additional 18,300 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter worth about $286,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,557 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 37,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $11,187,000 after buying an additional 3,012 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $210.77. 77,300 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 960,957. The business's 50 day moving average price is $231.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $394.42.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The firm had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. 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.