Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,958 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13,230.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 18,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,571,000 after purchasing an additional 18,522 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 750,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $281,524,000 after buying an additional 60,927 shares during the period. Ninety One North America Inc. increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 11,720 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,127,000 after buying an additional 2,368 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,958 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,563,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,287.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 44,940 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $16,862,000 after purchasing an additional 41,700 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $360.43 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $310.42 and a 12-month high of $415.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $377.63 and its 200 day moving average is $364.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.55, a P/E/G ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 1.04.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.62 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.29%. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.98 EPS. Research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WST shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $435.20.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 in the last 90 days. 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.