Parnassus Investments LLC Grows Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,479 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 4,090 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 0.09% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $20,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after acquiring an additional 203,198 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $964,850,000 after acquiring an additional 10,060 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 12,850 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 676,167 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during 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 valued at $205,114,000 after acquiring an additional 122,361 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WST shares. KeyCorp dropped their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a 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. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded up $6.60 on Friday, hitting $230.33. 1,027,140 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 621,698. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $285.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $303.21. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $197.01 and a 1-year high of $400.88. 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 (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio 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.