19,454 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Bought by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 19,454 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $6,372,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $46,151,000 after buying an additional 16,418 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,427 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 904.2% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 21,941 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $7,187,000 after acquiring an additional 19,756 shares during the period. Finally, National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at $706,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WST shares. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Two investment 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $210.65. 119,564 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 724,073. The business's fifty day moving average price is $211.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.08. The company has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47, a PEG 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. 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 (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $698.00 million during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued 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 0.40%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.