West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 10,766.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,044 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 139,746 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.20% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $31,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,210 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 3,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,620,000 after purchasing an additional 2,338 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 179,369 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $58,754,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of WST traded up $5.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $224.15. 976,054 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 729,755. The firm's fifty day moving average is $210.27 and its 200-day moving average is $264.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $187.43 and a 1 year high of $352.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The firm's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WST has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp cut their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.50.

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.