Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,678 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,699 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.18% of West Pharmaceutical Services worth $43,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised 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 period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WST. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp reduced their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock 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. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $396.75. The firm has a market cap of $16.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $297.82.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio is 12.56%.

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.