Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 274,833 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 1,999 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.38% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $90,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $46,151,000 after acquiring an additional 16,418 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 321.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $2,553,000. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 904.2% in 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 buying an additional 19,756 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WST shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stephens upgraded 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, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock traded up $1.01 on Friday, hitting $211.27. 661,701 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 723,864. The firm's 50 day moving average is $218.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.63. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $187.43 and a one year high of $372.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.58, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.