NEOS Investment Management LLC Has $1.36 Million Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

NEOS Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,145 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $1,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 8,159 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,673,000 after buying an additional 1,259 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 3,562 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,110,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,019,007,000 after purchasing an additional 44,376 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 238.9% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 10,985 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,598,000 after purchasing an additional 7,744 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price 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 target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $222.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $263.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $297.82. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $396.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company 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.