Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 60,545 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 156.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,223 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 60,545 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.14% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $32,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,756 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $27,541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,037 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 23,850 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,160,000 after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 80.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,153,000 after acquiring an additional 3,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 53,747 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $16,133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,740 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE:WST traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $336.15. The stock had a trading volume of 610,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,909. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.87, a P/E/G ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $326.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $312.70.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $746.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $709.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $430.20.

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.