West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Acquired by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 9,443 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.19% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $45,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after purchasing an additional 203,198 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $964,850,000 after purchasing an additional 10,060 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,110,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,019,007,000 after buying an additional 44,376 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $520,569,000 after buying an additional 12,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $290,604,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

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 firm 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.88. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $197.01 and a 52-week high of $396.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released 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 company had revenue of $748.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. 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 payout ratio is currently 12.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp decreased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.