Ninety One UK Ltd Has $12.09 Million Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,326 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 6,143 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $12,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ninety One North America Inc. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 11,720 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,127,000 after buying an additional 2,368 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 190 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,812,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the period. Lattice Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Lattice Capital Management LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 160.3% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,280 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 2,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $435.20.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 2,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.62, for a total value of $724,053.78. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $709,708.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.4 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $5.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $372.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 444,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,148. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $310.42 and a fifty-two week high of $415.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $27.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.22, a P/E/G ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $378.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $364.11.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 20.12%. The company had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $740.43 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.15%.

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.