West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stake Raised by Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.9% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 3,056 shares to bring its total holdings to 24,997 shares worth approximately $5.6 million.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported a strong quarterly performance with $1.84 EPS, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.51 EPS, and a 9.2% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, raising it from $0.21 to $0.22, which will be paid on November 19th, marking a annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,997 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 3,056 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $5,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 3,268,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $731,747,000 after acquiring an additional 716,442 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,277.7% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 425,915 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $139,513,000 after purchasing an additional 417,995 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $79,255,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,231,721 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,066,798,000 after acquiring an additional 244,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $66,322,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $246.16. 781,012 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 876,536. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.43 and a 52 week high of $352.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $230.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.36.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (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 net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS 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 given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from West Pharmaceutical Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WST. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Stephens upgraded 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 issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $320.71.

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.