Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Grows Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 12,805 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $13,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 2,090 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $320.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.6%

WST stock opened at $219.59 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $254.19. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.43 and a twelve month high of $352.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.47, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 18.23%. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's payout ratio is 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.

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