ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Makes New Investment in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased 9,666 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, valued at approximately $2.16 million, indicating interest from institutional investors in the company.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported earnings of $1.84 per share for the previous quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a 9.2% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.21 to $0.22 per share, highlighting its ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,666 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $2,164,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,231,721 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,066,798,000 after acquiring an additional 244,259 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $731,747,000 after acquiring an additional 716,442 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,090,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $357,238,000 after acquiring an additional 494,828 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 790,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $259,005,000 after acquiring an additional 107,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 768,848 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $251,844,000 after acquiring an additional 109,481 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WST. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.8%

WST traded up $4.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $244.18. The stock had a trading volume of 143,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 856,129. The company has a market capitalization of $17.56 billion, a PE ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 1.05. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $352.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.60.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.43%. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is 12.57%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.