TD Asset Management Inc Has $98.15 Million Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.1% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 25,372 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 438,385 shares valued at about $98.15 million.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.84, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.51, and experienced a revenue increase of 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company plans to increase its quarterly dividend from $0.21 to $0.22, with the ex-dividend date set for November 12th, representing a 0.33% dividend yield.

TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 438,385 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 25,372 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc owned 0.61% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $98,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.7% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 9,318 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,105,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $320.71.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WST traded down $2.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $250.68. The company had a trading volume of 143,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,242. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $352.33. The firm's 50 day moving average is $222.11 and its 200-day moving average is $237.44.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.11 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. On average, analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.57%.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.