Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 135,584 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 136.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 234,807 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 135,584 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.32% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $52,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 2,090 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,922 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

NYSE:WST traded down $3.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $221.77. 447,446 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 732,407. The business's 50-day moving average price is $212.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.57. The company has a market cap of $15.93 billion, a PE ratio of 33.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $352.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.19%.

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.