Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires 7,744 Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 238.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,985 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,744 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $3,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 150.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 2.6 %

WST opened at $225.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G 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. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.01 and a twelve month high of $397.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $270.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.46.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly 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 during 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%. Analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WST. StockNews.com downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.50.

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.