Quantinno Capital Management LP Grows Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 69.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,838 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $178,828,000 after purchasing an additional 396,780 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $68,854,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $64,196,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 122,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 29.7% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 444,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $133,271,000 after acquiring an additional 101,710 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.4 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $330.24. 516,108 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 562,879. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70. The company has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a PE ratio of 49.00, a PEG ratio of 24.14 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $312.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.84. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $388,931.20. This represents a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.