Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Acquires Shares of 1,270 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,270 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $416,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on WST shares. Stephens upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.50.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $211.27 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 12 month low of $187.43 and a 12 month high of $372.79. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $217.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.08. The company has a market cap of $15.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.58, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.22.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $698.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.24 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. Research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.19%.

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.