Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Has $4.31 Million Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 41.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,229 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 3,586 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $4,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WST. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $597,061,000 after acquiring an additional 578,796 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth $215,011,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 457,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $161,027,000 after buying an additional 180,415 shares during the last quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1,900.0% during the third quarter. Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB now owns 180,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $67,538,000 after buying an additional 171,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 702.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 126,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $44,487,000 after buying an additional 110,597 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WST traded up $1.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $355.64. The stock had a trading volume of 434,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 574,817. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $310.42 and a twelve month high of $415.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The business's fifty day moving average is $378.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $363.88. The company has a market cap of $25.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.92, a PEG ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 1.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The business had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $670.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 EPS for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.55%.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.65, for a total transaction of $24,198,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,063,718.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.65, for a total transaction of $24,198,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at $56,063,718.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,978 shares of company stock valued at $50,852,672. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WST. UBS Group cut their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $435.20.

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.

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