Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Takes $11.09 Million Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 49,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $11,092,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.07% of West Pharmaceutical Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 138.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 136 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities 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. According to MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $223.89. The stock had a trading volume of 849,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 732,903. 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 firm has a market cap of $16.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The business's fifty day moving average is $210.35 and its 200-day moving average is $263.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

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