West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Shares Purchased by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 13,230.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,522 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $6,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,591,271 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $597,061,000 after purchasing an additional 578,796 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 806,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $302,458,000 after purchasing an additional 33,867 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 750,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $281,524,000 after purchasing an additional 60,927 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,011,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 476,407 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $178,753,000 after purchasing an additional 37,153 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,700,900. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $469,695.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 7,012 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $2,559,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,660 shares in the company, valued at $1,700,900. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,978 shares of company stock valued at $26,653,772 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $368.35 on Wednesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $310.42 and a 1 year high of $415.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $378.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $363.02. The company has a market capitalization of $26.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.61.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.27. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The firm had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $670.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 7.78 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. West Pharmaceutical Services’s payout ratio is currently 10.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $323.00 to $536.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted 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 note on Tuesday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $435.20.

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.