Aberdeen Group plc Has $13.97 Million Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has reduced its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 62.9%, holding 63,106 shares worth approximately $13.97 million after selling 106,834 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have recently adjusted their positions in West Pharmaceutical Services, with Brown Advisory Inc. increasing its stake by 28.1% and new acquisitions made by firms like Nuveen LLC worth $79.25 million.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported a quarterly earnings beat, with $1.84 EPS surpassing expectations, and announced an increase in its dividend from $0.21 to $0.22 per share.

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 62.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,106 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 106,834 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.09% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $13,972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WST. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $731,747,000 after purchasing an additional 716,442 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,277.7% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 425,915 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $139,513,000 after purchasing an additional 417,995 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter worth $79,255,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 244,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $66,322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WST shares. 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $243.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $352.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $230.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.10. The company has a market cap of $17.51 billion, a PE ratio of 36.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.05.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. 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. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. West Pharmaceutical Services's 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.