Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $15.62 Million Stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,860 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,812 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $15,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 10,060 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the third 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 last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 676,167 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $178,828,000 after acquiring an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WST. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp lowered 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 7.9 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $214.84 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.01 and a 52 week high of $400.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $327.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $313.92.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. Analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.46%.

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.