Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 17,711 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 236,797 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 17,711 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.33% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $53,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST traded up $7.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $218.46. 773,266 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 727,391. The company has a market cap of $15.70 billion, a PE ratio of 32.66, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $210.38 and a 200 day moving average of $264.94. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.43 and a 52-week high of $352.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business 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 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 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.19%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

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.