West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Purchased by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 731.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 640,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 563,705 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.88% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $209,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $225,851,000 after purchasing an additional 676,167 shares in the last quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $145,379,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $178,828,000 after buying an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $72,646,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,130,020,000 after acquiring an additional 203,198 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

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West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST traded up $1.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $229.03. The company had a trading volume of 2,640,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 634,008. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 34.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.01 and a twelve month high of $400.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $276.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $301.09.

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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $739.59 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp cut 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. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.50.

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.