Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 4,699 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 128,678 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,699 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $43,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 140,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,151,000 after purchasing an additional 16,418 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $1,043,000 after buying an additional 2,427 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 15.0% during the 4th 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. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 130,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,124,000 after acquiring an additional 23,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 80.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,153,000 after acquiring an additional 3,042 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $222.08 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $263.98 and its 200 day moving average is $297.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $16.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.01 and a twelve month high of $396.75.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WST. Bank of America raised their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

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.