West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Stock Holdings Lifted by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 59.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,135 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 2,297 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $2,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 23,611 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $7,734,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $350,000. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. now owns 115,810 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $37,935,000 after purchasing an additional 29,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 625,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $205,013,000 after purchasing an additional 10,367 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens raised West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST opened at $208.88 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $214.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.14. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.43 and a 12-month high of $352.33.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The business had revenue of $698.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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