Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Boosts Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,428 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $10,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WST shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE WST opened at $229.03 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $197.01 and a 52 week high of $397.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.23, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $274.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $300.47.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. Equities research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.56%.

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.