Ninety One North America Inc. Acquires 2,368 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Ninety One North America Inc. increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 25.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,720 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,368 shares during the quarter. Ninety One North America Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $4,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $237,367,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $597,061,000 after acquiring an additional 578,796 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the third quarter valued at $215,011,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 73.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 849,266 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $294,246,000 after acquiring an additional 359,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at $44,610,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE WST traded down $0.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $376.86. 134,228 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 508,485. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.88. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $310.42 and a fifty-two week high of $415.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.89, a P/E/G ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $379.98 and its 200 day moving average is $364.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.05. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 20.12% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The company had revenue of $732.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on WST shares. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $375.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $435.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total value of $292,438.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 64,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.85, for a total value of $23,077,900.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,023,943.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.82, for a total transaction of $292,438.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 73,978 shares of company stock worth $26,653,772 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services 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.