West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Purchased by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,110,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,376 shares during the quarter. West Pharmaceutical Services comprises 1.5% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 4.30% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $1,019,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 128,678 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $43,179,000 after buying an additional 4,699 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 238.9% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 10,985 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,598,000 after acquiring an additional 7,744 shares in the last quarter. Pier Capital LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Pier Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 65,757 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $21,539,000 after purchasing an additional 13,301 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $7,960,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.4 %

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $224.81 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $397.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $268.49 and its 200-day moving average is $298.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.79. The company has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.60, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. The company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. On average, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.50.

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.