West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Bought by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 28.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 716,442 shares during the period. West Pharmaceutical Services accounts for approximately 1.0% of Brown Advisory Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Brown Advisory Inc. owned approximately 4.55% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $731,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $290,604,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 731.8% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 640,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $209,879,000 after purchasing an additional 563,705 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,090,603 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $357,238,000 after purchasing an additional 494,828 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,277.7% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 425,915 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $139,513,000 after purchasing an additional 417,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,449.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 257,245 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $84,263,000 after buying an additional 240,642 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $320.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.0%

WST stock traded down $2.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $226.93. 465,375 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 737,107. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $352.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $246.19. 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.13% and a return on equity of 18.23%. The firm had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.