American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 1,449.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 257,245 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 240,642 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $84,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $231.93 on Tuesday. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $197.01 and a 1 year high of $397.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $272.64 and its 200 day moving average is $299.96.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for 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%. On average, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on WST shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. 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 on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.50.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.