American Century Companies Inc. Raises Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1,449.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 257,245 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 240,642 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.36% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $84,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $41,000. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.4 %

WST stock opened at $231.93 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.01 and a twelve month high of $397.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $272.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $299.96.

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

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

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.