Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 6,671 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,418 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 6,671 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $19,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,130,020,000 after acquiring an additional 203,198 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $964,850,000 after purchasing an additional 10,060 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $520,569,000 after purchasing an additional 12,850 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $225,851,000 after buying an additional 676,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $205,114,000 after buying an additional 122,361 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WST. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their price target 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 upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WST traded up $1.52 on Friday, hitting $229.03. The company had a trading volume of 2,640,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 634,668. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $274.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $300.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $397.72.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. Equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.56%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Profile

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.