Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys New Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 24,272 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $8,999,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WST. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth approximately $2,387,990,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,348,698 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,202,183,000 after purchasing an additional 54,920 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $733,733,000. Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $728,168,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 644,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $161,428,000 after buying an additional 296,639 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $340.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $412.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Zacks Research lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $424.67.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of WST stock opened at $409.01 on Thursday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.83 and a 1 year high of $438.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $371.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $315.20. The company has a market cap of $28.49 billion, a PE ratio of 45.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.13.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $874.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $827.12 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 18.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. Research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This is a positive change from West Pharmaceutical Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is presently 9.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Annette Favorite sold 8,135 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.81, for a total transaction of $2,772,489.35. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 16,845 shares in the company, valued at $5,740,944.45. The trade was a 32.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 15,659 shares of company stock worth $5,443,749 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc develops and manufactures components and delivery systems used in the administration and packaging of injectable medicines and other healthcare products. Its offerings include elastomer closures, seals, syringe components, drug-delivery systems, and other specialized packaging components designed to support the safety, quality, and performance of pharmaceutical products.

The company also provides contract-manufacturing services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device customers.