West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Acquired by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 755,239 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 7,876 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.04% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $247,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,384 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,090,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $357,238,000 after purchasing an additional 494,828 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 309,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $101,372,000 after purchasing an additional 3,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oarsman Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WST traded down $0.87 on Wednesday, hitting $211.63. 163,662 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 952,526. The firm's 50-day moving average is $226.99 and its 200 day moving average is $288.51. The company has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $394.42. 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 (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million. Sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.