West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,756 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 2,037 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $27,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $39,124,000 after acquiring an additional 23,850 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 80.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,153,000 after purchasing an additional 3,042 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,074 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,724,000 after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 53,747 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $16,133,000 after buying an additional 4,740 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE WST traded up $3.20 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $332.77. 203,596 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 567,993. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $413.70. The stock has a market cap of $24.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 25.04 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $319.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $312.19.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The company had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $709.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is currently 12.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WST. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $437.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total transaction of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.