Schroder Investment Management Group Has $25.78 Million Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Schroder Investment Management Group reduced its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 78,389 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 8,795 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $25,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WST. Allstate Corp bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $706,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $31,114,000. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 12,792 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,190,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 139,788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,789,000 after acquiring an additional 9,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $290,604,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp cut their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $221.49 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $256.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a one year low of $197.01 and a one year high of $396.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 17.03%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.