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

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 731.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 640,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 563,705 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $209,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,130,020,000 after purchasing an additional 203,198 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $964,850,000 after purchasing an additional 10,060 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $520,569,000 after purchasing an additional 12,850 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $225,851,000 after purchasing an additional 676,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during 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 worth $205,114,000 after purchasing an additional 122,361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE WST opened at $230.33 on Monday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.01 and a twelve month high of $400.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The stock has a market cap of $16.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.43, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $285.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $303.25.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $739.59 million. Equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued 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 on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.00.

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.